Ariha (Syria) (AFP) – Syria’s Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, assess the damage at the site of regime shelling in the village of Ariha in the northwestern rebel-held Idlib Province. The heavy bombardment by government forces came in apparent retaliation to a drone strike at a Syrian military academy that killed 112 people in government-held Homs on Thursday 5 October. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Syrian state media blamed “armed terrorist organisations” for the attack. Swathes of Idlib province are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.
