80+ Dead, Hundreds Injured: Drone Strike on Syrian College Devastates Region

The Syrian civil war, which has been raging for a decade now, was described as an “epic humanitarian crisis” by the United Nations. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions of refugees have been displaced as a result of the conflict, and the human and economic cost has been astronomical. It recently took another heartbreaking and terrifying turn with a devastating drone attack on a Syrian military college.

At least eighty people were killed and hundreds were injured when a fleet of eleven armed drones launched simultaneous strikes on the college which is located in Aleppo, a city in the northwest of Syria. The drones appeared to be flown by remote control, carried out fifteen to twenty coordinated strikes with explosive warheads, and are believed to have been sent by a faction of the opposition.

The strike was the deadliest yet in terms of casualties and observers believe it was aimed at wreaking destruction at the most strategic level. The college plays an important role in training and equipping the Syrian military and the attack has weakened the government’s ability to respond to the rebel forces. The drones also caused collateral damage in the surrounding residential area, killing and injuring many innocent civilians.

Videos of the incident have emerged and the horrifying scenes of death and destruction has created widespread shock and outrage. The international community has condemned the attack and is attempting to find out who is responsible. Kurdish-led forces have been accused of being behind the drones as a way of deterring government forces from attacking their own regions.

It remains to be seen if any justice comes to the innocent victims of the attack and what the effects will be of the weakened government forces. As the death toll of the Syrian civil war continues to rise, this tragedy provides a worrying indication as to the potential future of the conflict.