- 5 Oct 2023 - 21:00(21:00 GMT)
Thanks for joining us
Thank you for following along with all the updates out of Syria.
Read our full story on the drone attack on the military college in Homs province, and subsequent government strikes on the rebel-held governate of Idlib here.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 20:45(20:45 GMT)
RECAP: Drone strike in Homs, Idlib barrage, and Turkish drone shot down
Here’s a recap of what has happened in Syria in recent hours:
- Syria saw one of its deadliest attacks on government-held territory in years, with 80 killed in a drone strike on a military college in Homs.
- No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, with the Syrian government only citing Syrian fighters “backed by known international forces”.
- After the strike, activists in northwest Syria reported at least six people killed in Syrian government artillery and rocket attacks across the rebel-controlled Idlib governate.
- Meanwhile, the US military said it shot down a Turkish drone after it came too close to its troops in northeast Syria.
- The incident comes as Turkey has reportedly stepped up strikes on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-ally that Ankara considers to be dominated by “terrorists”.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 20:40(20:40 GMT)
Video shows Homs drone strike that killed 80
- 5 Oct 2023 - 20:24(20:24 GMT)
Why are US forces in Syria?
The US has drawn down many of its military deployments in the two decades since it launched its so-called international “war on terror”.
But the administration of US President Joe Biden has maintained it must keep its about 900 troops based in Syria, citing their role in preventing a resurgence of ISIL (ISIS).
Some analysts have questioned how effective the US strategy is. A handful of US lawmakers have also questioned the legal basis for the prolonged military presence, which has never been approved by the US Congress.
The troops remain in the country under the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF), a measure that granted the US military the broad authority to target al-Qaeda and its supporters across the globe in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The administration of former President Barack Obama later said that ISIL fell under the auspices of the authorisation and first deployed US forces to Syira in 2014. Critics have called for the AUMF to be reformed.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 19:32(19:32 GMT)
Who was behind the Homs drone attack?
No one has claimed responsibility for the drone attack in Homs, which the Syrian government has only blamed on fighters “backed by known international forces”.
There is a lot of speculation Syrian opposition forces based in Idlib are behind the attack, and government shelling on Idlib since the Homs attack has indicated that is the regime’s working hypothesis.
Suspicion could also fall on ISIL (ISIS) remnants based in Syria’s central desert.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr pointed out that the long distances between Homs and the locations of the opposition and ISIL mean that it would be difficult for them to have carried out such an attack, but Joshua Landis, an American academic and Quincy Institute fellow, told Al Jazeera that the “use of drones” may give the factions in Idlib, in particular, the capability to carry out the attack.
There is also speculation that attack could be the result of internal division within the Syrian government, as dissatisfaction increases with the rule of President Bashar al-Assad and the economic situation in the country.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 19:30(19:30 GMT)
Complete blackout over parts of Idlib follow government shelling
Residents across Idlib say many towns and villages have been left in the dark after government forces targeted electricity stations.
“The bombing has led to a complete blackout in the city of Idlib,” resident Khaled Habak said.
“People are now in a state of terror and panic,” he added.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 19:23(19:23 GMT)
UN chief concerned about Homs drone attack
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his concern about the violence in Syria on Thursday, according to his spokesperson.
“The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the drone attack on a military academy graduation in Homs, which reportedly resulted in dozens of casualties, including civilians and numerous injuries,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“The secretary-general is also deeply concerned about the retaliatory shelling by pro-government forces on multiple locations in northwest Syria and emerging reports of casualties,” he added.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 19:15(19:15 GMT)
US officials say Turkish drone came too close to US troops in Syria
US officials say that the US shot down an armed Turkish drone in northeastern Syria after it had dropped bombs on targets near Hasakah and came close enough to pose a danger to US forces.
The officials say the shootdown was ordered after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials stating that US forces were on the ground in the area and that the US military would take action to protect them if the drone didn’t leave.
One official confirmed that while the drone did not target US troops, however, it was flying in an “unsafe” and “unsynchronised” manner. There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the shooting of the drone.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 18:50(18:50 GMT)
Syrian gov’t attacks over Idlib intensify, say White Helmets
Syrian government forces have escalated their artillery and missile attacks on villages and towns across the suburbs of Idlib in northwest Syria, says Mounir Mustafa, deputy director of the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets).
“The terrorist attacks have continued throughout the day, targeting markets and schools in a systematic manner,” he tells Al Jazeera.
“Among the targeted sites are three schools, two in Sarmin and one in Al-Bara, an electricity company on the eastern outskirts of Idlib, and a Syria Civil Defence centre in the city of Ariha,” explains Mustafa.
“We call on the United Nations and the international community to put an end to these deadly terrorist attacks that threaten the lives of civilians. These attacks will continue unless those responsible are held accountable.”
- 5 Oct 2023 - 18:47(18:47 GMT)
Idlib death toll up to six
The number of dead from government attacks in opposition-held Idlib governorate has now risen to six, according to the Syria Civil Defence.
The attacks on Idlib began on Thursday afternoon and have continued intermittently through the evening and night, an apparent response to the Homs attack earlier, although no group has claimed responsibility.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 18:27(18:27 GMT)
‘Tragic psychological state’: Idlib residents describe horror of the attacks
Firas al-Qarbi, a resident of Ariha in the province of Idlib in northwest Syria, describes what he heard and saw when Syrian government forces attacked his neighbourhood.
“We were at the funeral when we heard the sound of heavy artillery and shelling, one missile after another,” says Qarbi, “The sound of the bombing was very intense, and there was only a few minutes between one shell and the other.”
“We hid in a shelter until we were able to get out, and when we got out we saw this scene,” says al-Qarbi, describing how he found his home bombed out and everything destroyed.
“We are in a tragic psychological state. Only civilians live in our neighbourhood – there was no justification to bomb it,” he adds.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 18:00(18:00 GMT)
Health minister says Homs drone attack death toll up to 80
We now have numbers from an official source on the death toll from Thursday’s drone attack in Homs, with Syrian state media quoting Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash as saying that 80 people have now been killed, including six children.
Al-Ghabash added that 240 people have also been injured.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 17:55(17:55 GMT)
At least five killed in gov’t attacks on Idlib
At least five people have been killed, including a woman and child, and 38 others have been wounded in government-led attacks on Idlib in northwestern Syria.
The attacks targeted 20 villages and towns across Idlib governorate. Among the wounded are at least eight children and eight women.
The attacks, launched from government positions south and east of Jabal al-Zawiya, began at 3:30pm local time (12:30 GMT). Locals say the attacks targeted a power station and a popular market.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 17:52(17:52 GMT)
US says shot down Turkish drone in northeast Syria, Ankara denies
There are differing narratives over a drone that was shot down by a US F-16 jet in northeast Syria on Thursday, with United States officials saying that it was an armed Turkish drone that had strayed too close to US troops, and a Turkish defence ministry official saying that while Ankara acknowledged a drone had been brought down, it did not belong to the Turkish armed forces. All of the officials were speaking to the Reuters news agency.
If the Americans did hit a Turkish drone, it would be the first time that Washington has brought down an aircraft belonging to Turkey – which, let’s not forget, is a NATO ally.
The incident comes as, and is possibly related to, a reported Turkish attack on Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria. The SDF said that eight people were killed in Turkish attacks on Thursday, including six fighters and two civilians.
The SDF is a US ally, but Turkey considers the main group in the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a designated “terrorist” group in Turkey, the US and the European Union. The PKK carried out an attack in Ankara on Sunday, in which both the attackers were killed and two police officers wounded, and Turkey said that the attackers came from Syria.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 17:30(17:30 GMT)
Homs attack ‘a major security breach’ for Syria’s Assad government
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, who has reported extensively on Syria, says that the Homs attack represents “a major security breach, a blow to the Syrian regime”.
“It has been years since the forces of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been targeted in such an operation in the heart of government-controlled territory,” she said.
“It seems that the Syrian regime is blaming the opposition, because just moments after this attack, their planes started to target residential areas in the opposition-controlled enclaves in the northwest of the country.”
- 5 Oct 2023 - 17:18(17:18 GMT)
Five killed in overnight Syrian gov’t attacks on Aleppo
Five civilians, including three women, have been killed in overnight artillery fire by Syrian government forces that targeted homes in the western countryside of Aleppo, say Syria Civil Defence and local medics.
Deputy Director of the Civil Defense Munir Mustafa describes the attack on civilian homes as “a terrorist act” that relied on guided missiles to target civilian homes.
“The absence of accountability and impunity allows these attacks to be repeated,” he says, adding that government forces also targeted the city of Sarmin and several villages in the eastern countryside of Idlib, killing a girl and wounding six others.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 17:04(17:04 GMT)
‘About 100’ killed in drone attack on military college in Homs
The death toll from the drone attack is not entirely clear, but a war monitor, as well as an official speaking to Reuters, said that approximately 100 people had been killed, making the attack one of the deadliest in government-held territory. Meanwhile, a Syrian health official told the Associated Press that 67 people had been killed, and 180 wounded.
In a statement, Syria’s military accused fighters “backed by known international forces” for the attack.
The statement does not specify the number of casualties but said some of the wounded were in critical condition, including women and children. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Read more in our news story here.
- 5 Oct 2023 - 16:53(16:53 GMT)
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and thank you for joining us as we cover the latest updates on a drone attack that has targeted a military college in Homs province in central Syria, as well as other developments in the country.
The drone attack appears to be one of the deadliest attacks on government-held territory in years, and has reportedly killed dozens of people and injured many more.
We are also following reports that the Syrian government forces have launched heavy artillery and rocket attacks on the rebel-held province of Idlib in northwest Syria, as well as Turkish attacks in northeast Syria.
Stay with me, Arwa Ibrahim, and our colleagues on Al Jazeera’s Live team as we bring you all the latest developments.
Syria updates: 80 killed in military college drone attack – state media
Syria’s military accuses fighters ‘backed by known international forces’ of the attack.
This live page has now been closed.
- Syrian officials said a drone attack on a military college in Syria’s Homs province during a graduation ceremony has killed and wounded civilians and military personnel.
- Syria’s government health minister said the death toll had risen to 80, including six children.
- Activists in northwest Syria reported heavy artillery and rocket attacks by Syrian government forces on villages and towns across the rebel-controlled governorate of Idlib.
- Two US officials told Reuters that a US F-16 fighter jet had shot down a Turkish drone that was operating near US troops in Syria. Turkish defence ministry officials denied the drone was theirs.
- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Turkish attacks killed six fighters, as well as two civilians, in northeast Syria.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies