Dramatic drone footage shows devastation of Syrian city
Newly released drone footage captures the utter devastation inflicted on Homs, a city that has been a key battleground in the bloody Syrian civil war.
The footage, shot by a Russian television station and released by Ruptly, shows a virtual ghost town, with countless buildings completely or partially destroyed. The deserted streets are strewn with rubble and nearly every window has been blown out of the crumbling buildings.
The country's civil war has been dragging on for nearly five years. It is unclear exactly when the footage was shot.
Homs, Syria's third largest city, is home to the country's biggest oil refinery and has seen some of the worst fighting in Syria's brutal war pitting government troops against opposition forces. The area has also allegedly been the target of Russian bombings and sporadic attacks from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The city is now in control of the Assad regime.
Despite a U.N.-brokered cease fire in 2014, the bloodshed in Homs continues today. Last month, multiple bombings left at least 20 people dead and more than 100 wounded.
In December 2014, "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon, a veteran war reporter, interviewed filmmakers who captured disturbing video from inside the besieged city.
Homs "started to look like something out of World War II or worse," Simon reported.