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Terrorist Attacks Kill Dozens of Civilians in Two Coastal Syrian Cities

A burnt-out car at the scene of one of multiple bombings in Tartus A burnt-out car at the scene of one of multiple bombings in Tartus AFP

23 May 2016
Islamic State bombs kill 150 and wound over 200 more in Syrian coastal towns.

On Monday 23 May 2016, the coastal towns of Jableh and Tartous in Syria were bombed by members of the Islamic State (IS). Nearly 150 people were killed and at least 200 were wounded. The government-controlled area is home to Russian military bases, monitors, and state media.

In Jableh, some of the blasts occurred at a hospital‘s emergency department and a bus station. The bombs in Tartous hit a bus station and occurred in quick succession. These attacks were the first of their kind in Tartous, which houses a Russian naval facility, and in Jableh, where there is  a  Russian-operated air base nearby.The IS claimed responsibility for the attacks in statements posted online. Their news agency, Amaq, claimed the deaths of ten IS members with five in each city. The statement indicated that  the attacks had been carried out in government-held areas “so they experience the same taste of death which Muslims so far have tasted from Russian (and Syrian government) airstrikes on Muslim towns.”Speaking on behalf of the government, Syria’s Information Minister has vowed to keep combating terrorism, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has also expressed his willingness to fight with the Syrian government against the terrorists. The UN Secretary-General called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to refrain from attacks on civilians.

To know more, read:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-latakia-idUKKCN0YE0ON
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54016#.V010yFJefs2
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/explosions-hit-syrian-coastal-cities
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/scores-killed-multiple-attacks-syrian-government-strongholds-370875199

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