Syria rocked by seven bombings by ISIS in which nearly 150 are killed

Nearly 150 people have been killed in seven near-simultaneous explosions in northwest Syria for which ISIS has claimed responsibility. The targets chosen were bus stations, hospitals and other civilian sites in two seaside cities within President Bashar al Assad's coastal heartland. As indicated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights SOHR, 100 people were killed in Jableh and another 48 in Tartus - the dead included children.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 23 May 2016.

The breakup of the seven were five suicide attacks and two car bombs. In one of the attacks in a hospital, the attacker detonated explosives in the hospital emergency room after carrying victims of an earlier attack there. In the opinion of SOHR head, these were "without a doubt the deadliest attacks" in the cities since the six-year civil war began.
The attacks began at 7am BST with three explosions at a bus station in Tartus - this is the place where regime ally Russia has a naval facility. The ISIS has said that the explosions were in retaliation for Syrian and Russian airstrikes against the jihadists. They vowed to carry out "more devastating and bitter attacks".
Till now, more than 270,000 people have been killed in the civil war, while millions have been displaced. The Islamic State had emerged in 2014 and it had seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate.


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Twin bombings in Syrian city of Homs leave 46 dead

#homs #syria #ISIS #twinbomb Twin bomb blasts in the Syrian city of Homs has left at least 46 people dead, among them there are 28 civilians. This has been informed by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. These attacks have been described as being among the biggest blasts to hit the government-held neighborhood of Zahra during the five-year civil war.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 21 February 2016.

As revealed by Syrian state television footage fronts of shops had been ripped off and vehicles were destroyed by the force of the bombs. As per official figures of the Syrian state TV, the number of deaths is put at 25 - this figure is reportedly from Homs provincial governor Talal Barazi.
The attacks has come a day after government advances against Islamic State but no one has claimed responsibility as yet. Incidentally, Homs was once seen as the capital of the revolution and is now largely controlled by pro-government forces. The Zahra neighborhood has become a regular target for bombers. There were major attacks including one on a school in October 2014 in which 48 children and four adults were killed.


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Residents of Madaya surviving on grass, cats and dogs

Residents of a besieged Syrian town of Madaya, situated just 15 miles from Damascus, and less than seven miles from the border with Lebanon, have no other go but to eat cats and dogs and grass to survive even as thousands of people face starving to death. The city of Madaya was, once upon a time, a popular holiday resort for Syrians. It is now under siege by forces who are loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 7 January 2016.

Thousands of people who are trapped have no food, water or electricity. Rice is sold in grammes because one kilogramme can cost up to £170 which they cannot afford. It has been confirmed by an unnamed aid worker that some residents were eating cats and dogs to survive, while others ate leaves and grass and drank water flavored with jam or spices.
Dr Mohamad Youssef, who acts as the manager of the medical council in Madaya, has informed that every day, there are two or three starvation deaths. Such deaths are mostly the elderly, the women and children.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hopes that it can get aid to all three villages in the next few days. It may be recalled that in mid-October, more than 20 lorries were allowed to deliver medical and humanitarian supplies but, since then, the situation has worsened.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that 10 people had died because of lack of food in recent weeks while 13 others had been shot by pro-government forces or blown up by mines while trying to find food. In the opinion of the UN, the apparent use of siege warfare has been used in clear breach of international laws.

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Russian airstrike in Syrian town of Ariha kills at least 40

Russian bombing raid on the Syrian town of Ariha controlled by rebel forces has left at least 40 dead and dozens wounded. The strike had struck a popular market place in the town of Ariha situated in north-west Syria, as informed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. As per SOHR, there are at least 60 dead and the attack by Russia was in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 29 November 2015.

The town of Ariha is in Idlib province which is an area controlled by anti-government forces, including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and is not a stronghold of ISIS, which controls wide swathes of eastern Syria.
However, Russia says its airstrikes - which began at the end of September - are targeting ISIS and other 'terrorists' while the Western officials and Syrian rebels insist that most of the strikes have focused on central and northern Syria, where ISIS does not have a strong presence.
Since Russia is an ally of Bashar al-Assad, one can presume that the strikes are targeting those who have rebelled against the President.

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Syrian war planes bomb market in Douma, Damascus – at least 82 feared killed

It was an intentional attack carried out by Syrian war planes on its people in rebel held Douma near Damascus that has killed at least 82 people and have left more than 200 wounded at a busy market outside the Syrian capital.
The bombs were allegedly dropped by government war planes and the attack was during rush hour because Sunday was the beginning of the working week in Syria.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 August 2015.

The attack was one of the deadliest since the civil war erupted nearly five years ago and, a war that has killed more than 250,000 and injured at least one million. In the opinion of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the incident was "an official massacre that was carried out deliberately". The war planes had fired a first missile and then came back to fire more missiles minutes later against those who had come to help victims after the first attack.
The official version of the Syrian military was that air force strikes on Douma and nearby Harasta had targeted the headquarters of the rebel group Islam Army.
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US strategy to target oil fields held by IS leads to civilian deaths

The US strategy of carrying out air strikes on oil fields held by Islamic State is leading to death of civilians because in the latest instance of a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on a gas distribution facility set off a series of secondary explosions in which at least eight people died nzherald.co.nz.

The names of four are known and another four charred bodies have been placed in a nearby mosque for identification – the slain men are believed to be fuel tanker drivers.
Reports indicate that the airstrike had targeted a distribution station in the town of Khasham in the oil-rich province of Deir el-Zour. The incident was also reported by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria.

Incidentally, the U.S.-led coalition has been aggressively targeting IS-held oil facilities in Syria because these are believed to be a key source of income for the militants.

Al-Nusra front threatens over US airstrikes on ISIS positions

The Syrian militant group al-Nusra Front has denounced US-led air strikes as "a war against Islam" and, in an online statement, the al-Qaeda-linked group has called upon jihadists around the world to target Western and Arab countries involved bbc.com.
The threat comes as the US and other nations have widened air strikes against Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq and Syria and a Syrian activist group has indicated that overnight strikes have hit three local oilfields near the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa.
Moreover, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, have added that one civilian was killed in a strike on a plastics factory on the outskirts of Raqqa.
The Pentagon had earlier confirmed that jets had hit Raqqa as well as IS positions near the Turkish border.
The US-led coalition consisting of about 40 countries, including Arab states, has vowed to destroy IS, which controls large parts of north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq. Incidentally, the group's brutal tactics, including mass killings, beheadings, and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, have triggered the international intervention.
Britain has become the latest country to join the coalition - two of six RAF Tornados based in Cyprus have carried out their first combat mission but returned without carrying out any strikes. Later, two RAF planes took part in a further flight and later returned safely. Probably they are testing the waters before embarking on offensive actions.

Syrian rebel leader killed in suicide bomb attack in Ram Hamdan

Suicide bombing has killed Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham, the leader of an ultraconservative Syrian rebel group, in the northwestern town of Ram Hamdan in the Syrian province of Idlib foxnews.com.
He was believed to be the head of one of Syria's largest rebel groups – many more of his leading fighters were also killed in the attack. This attack is likely to aggravate the present situation and further weaken the country's already shaky armed opposition.
This has been reported by an activist collective called the Edlib News Network and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The Observatory usually bases its information from a network of activists on the ground.
Both the groups have revealed that other leading group members of the Ahrar al-Sham were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in a meeting.
As per the Edlib News Network, a total of over 40 people were killed, including four other leaders of Ahrar al-Sham. However, the Observatory said "tens" people were killed but did not provide a specific number and such differing casualty figures are quite common immediately after any attack in Syria.
The Ahrar al-Sham had earlier fought against the extremist Islamic State group, which now holds a swath of territory across Syria and Iraq and had blamed the Islamic State group for the killing of Abu Khaled al-Souri, one of their leaders in February.
Incidentally, while Ahrar al-Sham advocates the implementation of an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam, it had worked with more moderate rebel groups trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Moreover, it had become the most prominent member of a broader rebel coalition known as the Islamic Front but it is facing loss of donor funding.
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