Deadly Syrian Strikes
February 22, 2016
Syria
Credit: WORLD BOOK map
Yesterday, February 21, in war-torn Syria, Islamic State terrorist bombs killed around 150 people and injured nearly 200 others in the cities of Damascus and Homs. Islamic State attacks, as well as attacks by other groups, are commonplace in Syria, but these latest attacks came as several nations—including Russia and the United States—struggle to negotiate a cease-fire. The cease-fire talks involve only government and rebel groups, not the many terrorist groups also involved in the fighting. So, even if the talks bring a pause in some of the fighting, the campaigns against the Islamic State and other terror groups will continue. The scene is further confused by disagreement on which groups are to be defined as terrorists. Syria’s bloody civil war has raged since 2011.
Sunday’s attacks took place in Shī`ite Muslim neighborhoods of Damascus and Homs. The Islamic State is a radical Sunni Muslim group. Sunnis and Shī`ites have been at odds for centuries.
