Online Desk: The number of people killed when a drone laden with explosives hit a military a military college graduation ceremony in the western Syrian city of Homs rose to 116 early Friday, with nearly 300 others wounded. Five children and 31 women were among the dead, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. In an earlier statement, the defense ministry on Thursday blamed “terrorist organizations supported by well-known international parties.” Among those with critical injuries were families invited to the ceremony as well as graduating students, it said.

The Syrian armed forces said the attack was “unprecedented,” and vowed to respond “with full force and determination, warning that those who planned and executed the attack “will pay dearly.” The ancient city of Homs, once known as the capital of the Syrian revolution, was the site of intense battles between regime forces and opposition fighters seeking to unseat President Bashar Al Assad in 2012. The city fell to the regime in 2014, when rebels left it after a two-year siege.

The Syrian president now controls most of the country, with the exception of a northern strip held by various rebel factions, including Kurdish groups. Located in the agricultural heartland of Syria, the western city had long been a transport and commercial hub of vital strategic importance. The road through Homs connects the capital, Damascus, in the south, to Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, in the north. On Thursday, civil defense group the White Helmets, comprised of nearly 3,000 volunteers working to save lives in Syria, said the Syrian regime forces launched “systematic” attacks on civilians in northwestern Syria, killing at least 12 people and injuring 49. Among the 49 injured civilians were 12 children and 11 women, according to the group. Syria has been carrying out airstrikes routinely in the area against what the regime calls terrorists.

Heavy artillery shells and rocket launchers were unleashed upon more than 15 cities, towns, and villages across Idlib and the Aleppo countryside in northwest Syria. Notably, markets, schools, public facilities, and humanitarian workers were targeted in these attacks, the White Helmets said in a statement. On Wednesday, the group reported airstrikes targeting a school in Sarmeen city in the eastern countryside of Idlib, resulting in the death of one child and injuries to six civilians, including three girls – with one being an infant – and two women. Northwest Syria has witnessed its third consecutive day of deadly bombardment, the group said on Thursday.