Damascus, 5 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Syria's health minister has put the death toll from a drone attack that targeted a military graduation ceremony in the provice of Homs in central Syria at 80.

Stressing that this is not a final casualty toll, Health Minister Hassan al-Hassan al-Ghabash said some 240 people were also wounded in Thursday's deadly attack. 

Civilians, including six children, and military personnel were among those killed, al-Ghabash said.

The Syrian army said earlier that "armed terrorist organizations supported by well-known international parties this afternoon targeted the graduation ceremony of military college officers in Homs with drones carrying explosive ammunition immediately after the ceremony ended." 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been documenting violence in Syria since civil war broke out in the country in 2011, has put the death toll at over 100.

The monitoring group said among the killed were 21 civilians.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but the Syrian Observatory suspects either the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) or the terrorist group Islamic State could be behind it.

Both want to overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which now controls two-thirds of the country, including the province of Homs, following years of civil war.

The Syrian government declared three days of public mourning starting on Friday to honour those who died as a result "of the brutal terrorist attack." 

Videos circulating on social media showed people screaming and bodies scattered on the field where the ceremony was held.

One man's clothes caught fire while a military officer was seen shouting in panic, "put out the fire."

Injured can be seen lying on the floor with their clothes drenched with blood.

According to the observatory, the ceremony was attended by Syrian military officials as well as the defence minister, who reportedly left the ceremony before the strikes started.

Activists said the attack took place shortly after the ceremony ended while Syrian military graduates and their relatives were still gathering in the courtyard.

Soon after the attack, the Syrian army shelled various areas in the last rebel stronghold in north-west Syria, killing at least five civilians and wounding 38 others, according to the White Helmets rescue teams working in the area.

Among the killed and wounded were women and children, the White Helmets said.

Shells rained down on the city of Idlib, Jisr al Soghour, Neirab, Sermine, Ariha and other areas in rural Idlib, activists in the area said.

Idlib is the last rebel stronghold in war-torn Syria.

Russia is the main military supporter of al-Assad, while Turkey has been supporting some opposition forces since an uprising started against al-Assad's rule in 2011. 

Photo: MIA archive