A drone attack on a Syrian military academy in Homs has killed at least 60 soldiers and civilians and injured dozens more, a monitoring group says.

The army said there were “numerous martyrs” after several drones targeted a graduation ceremony attended by cadets’ families.

It blamed the attack on “terrorist groups” but did not identify them.

There was no immediate claim from the armed opposition groups battling the government in the country’s civil war.

But observers suspect the drone attack was launched from areas north-west of Homs that are controlled by jihadists and rebels.

Later, first responders in the province of Idlib reported that civilians had been killed in intense government artillery and missile strikes on several opposition-held cities, towns and villages.