Tag: ISIS

Iowa police chief identifies son as Iowa Army National Guard soldier killed in ISIS terrorist attack

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The family of one of two Iowa Army National Guard members killed in a terrorist attack Saturday confirmed his identity in a Facebook post Sunday morning. Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate, is one of the victims. “My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate (Howard) was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,” Bunn wrote. “He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have if from here.”In a news conference Saturday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had been in contact with the families of the two slain soldiers. “Earlier, I had the opportunity to reach out to the families of the two soldiers who were killed, and as you can imagine, they are devastated,” Reynolds said.Iowa Army National Guard officials are expected to officially release the soldiers’ names Sunday afternoon. A group of IANG soldiers was in Syria early Saturday morning when a lone ISIS gunman attacked. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, currently serving in the Middle East.Two were killed, as was a civilian interpreter. Three others were injured. One of the injuries was described as “superficial,” and that soldier was evacuated back to base for treatment. The other two injuries were “significant,” and the soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital at an air base in Jordan.”They are stable in critical condition, but both stable and both have made progress throughout the day,” IANG Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn said. Iowa Gov. Reynolds: ‘Our hearts are heavy’ after Iowa National Guard members killed in SyriaOsborn said that following the ambush, U.S. and partner Syrian forces engaged and killed the attacker. He said at the time of the attack, U.S. personnel were conducting a key leader engagement.”The mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism efforts in the region, and this incident remains under investigation,” Osborn said. FULL NEWS CONFERENCE: Two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria ambush

The family of one of two Iowa Army National Guard members killed in a terrorist attack Saturday confirmed his identity in a Facebook post Sunday morning.

Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate, is one of the victims.

“My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate (Howard) was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,” Bunn wrote. “He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have if from here.”

In a news conference Saturday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had been in contact with the families of the two slain soldiers.

“Earlier, I had the opportunity to reach out to the families of the two soldiers who were killed, and as you can imagine, they are devastated,” Reynolds said.

Iowa Army National Guard officials are expected to officially release the soldiers’ names Sunday afternoon.

Jeffrey Bunn
Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate (pictured), is one of the Iowa Army National Guard soldiers who was killed in Syria on Dec. 13, 2025.

A group of IANG soldiers was in Syria early Saturday morning when a lone ISIS gunman attacked. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, currently serving in the Middle East.

Two were killed, as was a civilian interpreter. Three others were injured.

One of the injuries was described as “superficial,” and that soldier was evacuated back to base for treatment. The other two injuries were “significant,” and the soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital at an air base in Jordan.

“They are stable in critical condition, but both stable and both have made progress throughout the day,” IANG Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn said.

Iowa Gov. Reynolds: ‘Our hearts are heavy’ after Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria

Osborn said that following the ambush, U.S. and partner Syrian forces engaged and killed the attacker. He said at the time of the attack, U.S. personnel were conducting a key leader engagement.

“The mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism efforts in the region, and this incident remains under investigation,” Osborn said.

FULL NEWS CONFERENCE: Two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria ambush

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December 14, 2025
Iowa police chief identifies son as Iowa Army National Guard soldier killed in ISIS terrorist attack

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The family of one of two Iowa Army National Guard members killed in a terrorist attack Saturday confirmed his identity in a Facebook post Sunday morning. Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate, is one of the victims. “My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate (Howard) was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,” Bunn wrote. “He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have if from here.”In a news conference Saturday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had been in contact with the families of the two slain soldiers. “Earlier, I had the opportunity to reach out to the families of the two soldiers who were killed, and as you can imagine, they are devastated,” Reynolds said.Iowa Army National Guard officials are expected to officially release the soldiers’ names Sunday afternoon. A group of IANG soldiers was in Syria early Saturday morning when a lone ISIS gunman attacked. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, currently serving in the Middle East.Two were killed, as was a civilian interpreter. Three others were injured. One of the injuries was described as “superficial,” and that soldier was evacuated back to base for treatment. The other two injuries were “significant,” and the soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital at an air base in Jordan.”They are stable in critical condition, but both stable and both have made progress throughout the day,” IANG Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn said. Iowa Gov. Reynolds: ‘Our hearts are heavy’ after Iowa National Guard members killed in SyriaOsborn said that following the ambush, U.S. and partner Syrian forces engaged and killed the attacker. He said at the time of the attack, U.S. personnel were conducting a key leader engagement.”The mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism efforts in the region, and this incident remains under investigation,” Osborn said. FULL NEWS CONFERENCE: Two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria ambush

The family of one of two Iowa Army National Guard members killed in a terrorist attack Saturday confirmed his identity in a Facebook post Sunday morning.

Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate, is one of the victims.

“My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate (Howard) was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,” Bunn wrote. “He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have if from here.”

In a news conference Saturday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had been in contact with the families of the two slain soldiers.

“Earlier, I had the opportunity to reach out to the families of the two soldiers who were killed, and as you can imagine, they are devastated,” Reynolds said.

Iowa Army National Guard officials are expected to officially release the soldiers’ names Sunday afternoon.

Jeffrey Bunn
Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn posted on the department’s page that his son, Nate (pictured), is one of the Iowa Army National Guard soldiers who was killed in Syria on Dec. 13, 2025.

A group of IANG soldiers was in Syria early Saturday morning when a lone ISIS gunman attacked. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, currently serving in the Middle East.

Two were killed, as was a civilian interpreter. Three others were injured.

One of the injuries was described as “superficial,” and that soldier was evacuated back to base for treatment. The other two injuries were “significant,” and the soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital at an air base in Jordan.

“They are stable in critical condition, but both stable and both have made progress throughout the day,” IANG Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn said.

Iowa Gov. Reynolds: ‘Our hearts are heavy’ after Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria

Osborn said that following the ambush, U.S. and partner Syrian forces engaged and killed the attacker. He said at the time of the attack, U.S. personnel were conducting a key leader engagement.

“The mission was in support of ongoing counter-ISIS and counterterrorism efforts in the region, and this incident remains under investigation,” Osborn said.

FULL NEWS CONFERENCE: Two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria ambush

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December 14, 2025
FBI thwarts potential ISIS-inspired terror attack in Michigan

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The FBI arrested multiple people in connection with a potential ISIS-inspired terror attack in Dearborn, Michigan, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Friday social media post.

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November 1, 2025
FBI arrests multiple suspects allegedly plotting potential

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FBI arrests multiple suspects allegedly plotting potential “terrorist attack” over Halloween weekend – CBS News

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FBI Director Kash Patel posted to social media on Friday details about arrests in Michigan linked to what he called a “potential terrorist attack” apparently plotted for Halloween weekend. Here’s the latest CBS News confirmed information.

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October 31, 2025
Tajikistan nationals with alleged ISIS ties removed in immigration proceedings, U.S. officials say

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When federal agents arrested eight Tajikistan nationals with alleged ties to the Islamic State terror group on immigration charges back in June, U.S. officials reasoned that coordinated raids in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia would prove the fastest way to disrupt a potential terrorist plot in its earliest stages. Four months later, after being detained in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, three of the men have already been returned to Tajikistan and Russia, U.S. officials tell CBS News, following removals by immigration court judges.

Four more Tajik nationals – also held in ICE detention facilities – are awaiting removal flights to Central Asia, and U.S. officials anticipate they’ll be returned in the coming few weeks. Only one of the arrested men still awaits his legal proceeding, following a medical issue, though U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive proceedings indicated that he remains detained and is likely to face a similar outcome.

The men face no additional charges – including terrorism-related offenses – with the decision to immediately arrest and remove them through deportation proceedings, rather than orchestrate a hard-fought terrorism trial in Article III courts, born out of a pressing short-term concern about public safety.

Soon after the eight foreign nationals crossed into the United States, the FBI learned of the potential ties to the Islamic State, CBS News previously reported. The FBI identified early-stage terrorist plotting, triggering their immediate arrests, in part, through a wiretap after the individuals had already been vetted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, law enforcement sources confirmed to CBS News in June.

Several months later, their removals following immigration proceedings mark a departure from the post-9/11 intelligence-sharing architecture of the U.S. government.

Now facing a more diverse migrant population at the U.S.-Mexico border, a new effort is underway by the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and the Intelligence Community to normalize the direct sharing of classified information – including some marked top-secret – with U.S. immigration judges.

The more routine intelligence sharing with immigration judges is aimed at allowing U.S. immigration courts to more regularly incorporate derogatory information into their decisions. The endeavor has led to the creation of more safes and sensitive compartmented information facilities – also known as SCIFs – to help facilitate the sharing of classified materials. Once considered a last resort for the department, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has sought to use immigration tools, in recent months, to mitigate and disrupt threat activity.

The immigration raids, back in June, underscore the spate of terrorism concerns from the U.S. government this year, as national security agencies point to a system now blinking red in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, with emerging terrorism hot spots in Central Asia.

A joint intelligence bulletin released this month, and obtained by CBS News, warns that foreign terrorist organizations have exploited the attack nearly one year ago and its aftermath to try to recruit radicalized followers, creating media that compares the October 7 and 9/11 attacks and encouraging “lone attackers to use simple tactics like firearms, knives, Molotov cocktails, and vehicle ramming against Western targets in retaliation for deaths in Gaza.”

In May, ICE arrested an Uzbek man in Baltimore with alleged ISIS ties after he had been living inside the U.S. for more than two years, NBC News first reported.

In the past year, Tajik nationals have engaged in foiled terrorism plots in Russia, Iran and Turkey, as well as Europe, with several Tajik men arrested following March’s deadly attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow that left at least 133 people dead and hundreds more injured.

The attack has been linked to ISIS-K, or the Islamic State Khorasan Province, an off-shoot of ISIS that emerged in 2015, founded by disillusioned members of Pakistani militant groups, including Taliban fighters. In August 2021, during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, ISIS-K launched a suicide attack in Kabul, killing 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians.

In a recent change to ICE policy, the agency now recurrently vets foreign nationals arriving from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, detaining them while they await removal proceedings or immigration hearings.

Only 0.007% of migrant arrivals are flagged by the FBI’s watchlist, and an even smaller number of those asylum seekers are ultimately removed. But with migrants arriving at the Southwest border from conflict zones in the Eastern Hemisphere, posing potential links to extremist or terrorist groups, the White House is now exploring ways to expedite the removal of asylum seekers viewed as a possible threat to the American public.

“Encounters with migrants from Eastern Hemisphere countries—such as China, India, Russia, and western African countries—in FY 2024 have decreased slightly from about 10 to 9 percent of overall encounters, but remain a higher proportion of encounters than before FY 2023,” according to the Homeland Threat Assessment, a public intelligence document released earlier this month.

A senior homeland security official told reporters in a briefing Wednesday, that the U.S. is engaged in an “ongoing effort to try to make sure that we can use every bit of available information that the U.S. government has classified and unclassified, and make sure that the best possible picture about a person seeking to enter the United States is available to frontline personnel who are encountering that person.”

Approximately 139 individuals flagged by the FBI’s terror watchlist have been encountered at the U.S.‑Mexico border through July of fiscal year 2024. That number decreased from 216 during the same timeframe in 2023. CBP encountered 283 watchlisted individuals at the U.S.-Canada border through July of fiscal year 2024, down from 375 encountered during the same timeframe in 2023.

“I think one of the features of the surge in migration over recent years is that our border personnel are encountering a much more diverse and global population of individuals trying to enter the United States or seeking to enter the United States,” a senior DHS official said. “So, at some point in the past, it might have been primarily a Western Hemisphere phenomenon. Now, our border personnel encounter individuals from around the world, from all parts of the world, to include conflict zones and other areas where individuals may have links or can support ties to extremist or terrorist organizations that we have long-standing concerns about.”

In April, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that human smuggling operations at the southern border were trafficking in people with possible connections to terror groups.

“Looking back over my career in law enforcement, I’d be hard-pressed to think of a time when so many different threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once, but that is the case as I sit here today,” Wray, told Congress in June, just days before most of the Tajik men were arrested.

The expedited return of three Tajiks to Central Asia required tremendous diplomatic communication, facilitated by the State Department, U.S. officials said.

Returns to Central Asia routinely encounter operational and diplomatic hurdles, though regular channels for removal do exist. According to agency data, in 2023, ICE deported only four migrants to Tajikistan.

Margaret Brennan,

Robert Legare and

Camilo Montoya-Galvez

contributed to this report.

Nicole Sganga

Nicole Sganga is a CBS News reporter covering homeland security and justice.

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October 6, 2024
7 U.S. troops injured in raid with Iraqi forces targeting Islamic State group militants

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The United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Islamic State group militants in the country’s western desert that killed at least 15 people and saw seven American troops hurt, officials said Saturday.

For years after dislodging the militants from their self-declared caliphate across Iraq and Syria, U.S. forces have continued fighting the Islamic State group, though the casualties from Friday’s raid were higher than others in previous ones.

The U.S. military’s Central Command alleged the militants were armed with “numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts” during the attack, which Iraqi forces said happened in the country’s Anbar Desert.

“This operation targeted ISIS leaders to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies, and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Central Command said, using an acronym for the militant group. “Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided.”

It added: “There is no indication of civilian casualties.”

An Iraqi military statement said “airstrikes targeted the hideouts, followed by an airborne operation.”

“Among the dead were key ISIS leaders,” Iraq’s military said, without identifying them. “All hideouts, weapons and logistical support were destroyed, explosive belts were safely detonated and important documents, identification papers and communication devices were seized.”

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation yet to be made public, told The Associated Press that five American troops were wounded in the raid, while two others suffered injuries from falls during the operation. One who suffered a fall was transported out of the region, while one of the wounded was evacuated for further treatment, the official said.

“All personnel are in stable condition,” the official said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why it took two days for the U.S. to acknowledge it took part in the raid. Iraq did not say the U.S. took part in the operation when initially announcing it, as politicians debate the future of having American troops in the country. There are approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Since the U.S. toppled dictator Saddam Hussein with its 2003 invasion of Iraq, the country has struggled to balance relations between America and neighboring Iran. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, Iraqi militias allied with Iran have targeted U.S. forces there, leading to American airstrikes targeting them.

At its peak, the Islamic State group ruled an area half the size of the U.K. It attempted to enforce its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be apostates.

A coalition of more than 80 countries led by the United States was formed to fight the group, which lost its hold on the territory it controlled in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.

However, the militants have continued to operate in the Anbar Desert in Iraq and Syria, while claiming attacks carried out by others elsewhere in the world inspired by the group. That includes the two suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna and a fatal stabbing attack in Germany.

Iraqi officials say that they can keep the ISIS threat under control with their own forces and have entered into talks with the U.S. aimed at winding down the mission of the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq.

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August 30, 2024
Taylor Swift concert terrorist plotters wanted to kill

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The suspects in the foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in Vienna earlier this month wanted to kill “tens of thousands” of the artist’s fans, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said Wednesday at a security conference in Maryland.

“They were plotting to kill a huge number — tens of thousands of people at this concert, including, I am sure, many Americans — and were quite advanced in this,” Cohen said, according to The Associated Press. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”

Swift’s Vienna concerts, which would have begun on Aug. 8, were canceled by the events’ organizers, Barracuda Music, when they were informed of the foiled plot by Austrian authorities.

Fans of singer Taylor Swift gather in Vienna, Austria, on August 8, 2024, after concerts were canceled at the last minute.

ROLAND SCHLAGER/APA/AFP/Getty

The move left tens of thousands of Swift’s fans, many of whom had traveled to Vienna from elsewhere in the country or abroad specifically to see a show, devastated.

“I won’t be able to see Taylor again with these resale prices so I am pretty devastated,” one social media user named Caroline said shortly after the shows were canceled. “This was supposed to be my ‘you beat cancer’ trip so losing it hurts.”

Another social media user named Sarah wrote that she had been “waiting to see taylor in my home country since i was 9 years old, i’m now 25… to have all this taken away by some men being so fueled by hatred for no reason at all makes me so beyond angry i can’t put it into words.”

The main suspect in the alleged plot, along with a 17-year-old, were taken into custody on Aug. 6, the day before the cancelations were announced. Austrian officials said the primary suspect, who they have not named due to Austrian privacy laws, was inspired by ISIS. They said he had planned to attack outside the stadium with knives or explosives.

A third suspect, who was 18 years old, was arrested on Aug. 8.

At the security conference Wednesday, CIA Deputy Director Cohen praised the CIA’s work, saying counterterrorism “successes” often go unheralded, according to the AP.

“I can tell you within my agency, and I’m sure in others, there were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley,” he said, referring to the location of the CIA headquarters in Virginia. “And not just the Swifties in my workforce.”

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Haley Ott

Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.

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August 29, 2024
France’s arrest of Telegram boss Pavel Durov “not a political decision at all,” President Emmanuel Macron says

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French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged Monday that authorities had arrested the founder and CEO of the widely used messaging app Telegram, saying it was “not a political decision at all” and that Pavel Durov’s fate was in the hands of France’s independent judicial authorities. French media said Durov was detained Saturday over Telegram’s alleged failure to moderate criminal activity on the platform, which has also been used by pro-democracy activists worldwide.

French police did not immediately confirm Durov’s arrest, which was reportedly carried out at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, but in his own Monday post on social media platform X, Macron said he was “reading false information here” about the detention.

Macron said France remained committed to the tenets of “freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and entrepreneurship,” but added that “freedoms are exercised within a framework established by law to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”

“It is up to the justice system, in total independence, to enforce the law. The arrest of the president of Telegram on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron said. “This is not a political decision at all. It is up to the judges to decide.”

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov delivers his keynote conference during day two of the Mobile World Congress at the Fira Gran Via complex in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 23, 2016.

Manuel Blondeau/AOP.Press/Corbis/Getty

In a statement issued later Monday, the Paris prosecutor’s office also confirmed Durov’s arrest and said the case had been referred “to the Centre for the Fight against Digital Crime (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) for the continuation of the investigations.”

The prosecutor’s office said Durov’s detention was extended on Monday for up to 96 hours, meaning he could remain in custody until at least Wednesday for questioning.

The statement confirmed that the tech CEO he was detained as part of an investigation into alleged complicity in a wide range of cybercrimes, including links to organized crime and the transfer and creation of imagery of child sexual abuse and of narcotics.

Durov, thought to be worth more than $15 billion, was reportedly detained shortly after touching down in his private jet at the Le Bourget airport.

Macron did not offer any detail of the ongoing investigation, but it comes after years of criticism that Telegram has allowed anyone, including those linked to organized crime, terrorism and far-right extremism, to use the app without scrutiny. Communications via the app are encrypted, meaning governments cannot censor or regulate what is said or shared on it.

Asked about ISIS members’ use of Telegram in the wake of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, and whether law enforcement should be allowed a backdoor into the app, Durov defended the platform, saying: “The interesting thing about encryption is it cannot be secure just for some people.”

Telegram said in a statement that it abides by EU laws, including the 2022 Digital Services Act that seeks to stop the flow of disinformation online, adding that “its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.”

The company said Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe” and called it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams said she could personally attest to the wide use of Telegram during the war in Ukraine, which she has covered extensively. She said the app was relied on heavily by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and by journalists reporting from the front lines since Russia launched its ongoing full-scale invasion in February 2022.

It has also been used as a vital tool by pro-democracy protesters in Russia, as well as Hong Kong and Iran.

Durov was born in Russia but left the country in 2014, after refusing to shut down anti-government content on a previous app that he launched.

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Holly Williams

Holly Williams is a CBS News senior foreign correspondent based in the network’s CBS London bureau. Williams joined CBS News in July 2012, and has more than 25 years of experience covering major news events and international conflicts across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

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August 26, 2024
German police say a man has turned himself in, claiming to be behind deadly Solingen festival knife attack

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A 26-year-old man turned himself in to police, saying he was responsible for the Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary, German authorities announced early Sunday.

Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”

“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said.

The suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany, police confirmed to The Associated Press news agency.

A view of the site of yesterday’s deadly stabbings that left three dead and eight injured on September 24, 2024 in Solingen, Germany.

Sascha Schuermann / Getty Images

On Saturday, the Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and that he carried out the assaults Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

The attack comes amid debate over immigration ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Germany’s Saxony and Thuringia regions where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany are expected to do well. In June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the country would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four more people injured.

On Saturday, a synagogue in France was targeted in an arson attack. French police said they made an arrest early Sunday.

What happened during the Solingen attack?

A city of about 160,000 residents near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf, Solingen was holding a “Festival of Diversity” to celebrate its anniversary.

The festival began Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

The attack took place in front of one stage. Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Friday, people alerted police to the presence of an attacker who had wounded several people with a knife.

At least three people were killed, authorities said: two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims’ throats.

Flowers, candles and tributes are placed close to the site of yesterday’s deadly stabbings that left three dead and eight injured on August 24, 2024 in Solingen, Germany.

Sascha Schuermann / Getty Images

The festival was canceled as police looked for clues in the cordoned-off square.

Friday’s attack plunged the city of Solingen into shock and grief. Residents gathered to mourn the dead and injured, placing flowers and notes near the scene of the attack.

“Warum?” asked one sign placed amid candles and teddy bears. Why?

Among those asking themselves the question was 62-year-old Cord Boetther, a merchant from Solingen.

“Why does something like this have to be done? It’s incomprehensible and it hurts,” Boetther said.

Officials had earlier said a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform authorities, but that he was not the attacker. Two female witnesses told police they overheard the boy and an unknown person before the attack speaking about intentions that corresponded to the bloodshed, officials said.

The ISIS militant group declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria about a decade ago, but now holds no control over any land and has lost many prominent leaders. The group is mostly out of global news headlines.

Still, it continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for deadly attacks around the world, including lethal operations in Iran and Russia earlier this year that killed dozens of people. Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq still carry out attacks on government forces in both countries as well as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.

Haley Ott

contributed to this report.

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August 25, 2024
ISIS Created Fake CNN and Al Jazeera Broadcasts

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The Islamic State has created fake videos mimicking the look and feel of mainstream news outlets CNN and Al Jazeera, according to a new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue shared exclusively with WIRED.

Launched in early March, the campaign was orchestrated by War and Media, a pro–Islamic State media outlet that typically creates long-form videos pushing the group’s ideology and history. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is a UN-designated terror group that perpetrated a genocide of the Yezidi population in Iraq and conducted multiple terrorist attacks, including the 2015 attacks in Paris that left 131 people dead; it has also promoted videos of its members beheading journalists and soldiers.

Central to the campaign were two YouTube channels. One was falsely branded as CNN and pushed English-language videos, and the other was branded with the Al Jazeera logo and pushed Arabic-language videos. The videos featured the logos of the real news outlets, and in the case of CNN, the videos also featured a real-time ticker along the bottom of the screen which changed to match the content being shown. The campaign also deployed a network of social media accounts branded to look like they were affiliated with news outlets, in what appears to be an effort to push ideology to new audiences.

In total, the campaign created eight original videos, four in each language, that discussed topics like the Islamic State’s expansion in Africa and the war in Syria.

One video also focused on the deadly attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow in March. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and the video attempted to combat a disinformation narrative promoted by the Kremlin that Ukraine, not the Islamic State, was accountable.

“It was essentially fake news to debunk fake news,” Moustafa Ayad, the executive director for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, tells WIRED.

Ayad also believes the campaign was a test run to ascertain how successful it would be in circumventing censorship efforts on mainstream Western platforms.

“It’s the first time we’ve really seen a concerted effort by an Islamic State outlet to create this fake ecosystem of news that isn’t branded as something that’s affiliated with the Islamic State,” says Ayad. “It was very much a test of the system and now they know where there are weaknesses in their strategy.”

The videos remained on YouTube for a month and a half before they were removed by the company, but during that time, the videos were also downloaded and republished by Islamic State supporters on their own accounts. Some of those videos are still circulating online today, because they have not been added to the hash-sharing database that platforms use to coordinate the takedown of terrorist content.

“What they did was essentially build this entire little fake ecosystem of social media channels that are doppelgängers of news outlets,” Ayad says.

Each of the videos on YouTube racked up thousands of views, and while none of them went viral, it was “enough for the group to get some traction in circles outside where they would normally get [traction] and saw real people commenting under the videos,” says Ayad.

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June 18, 2024
Kurdish People Fast Facts | CNN

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CNN
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Here’s a look at Kurdish people. Kurds do not have an official homeland or country. Most reside within countries in the Middle East including northern Iraq, eastern Turkey, western Iran and small portions of northern Syria and Armenia.

Area: Roughly 74,000 sq mi

Population: approximately 25-30 million (some Kurds reside outside of Kurdistan)

Religion: Most are Sunni Muslims; some practice Sufism, a type of mystic Islam

Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, making Kurdistan a non-governmental region and one of the largest stateless nations in the world.

Portions of the region are recognized by two countries: Iran, where the province of Kordestan lies; and northern Iraq, site of the autonomous region known as Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurds were mostly nomadic until the end of World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

Kurds make up about 10% of the population in Syria, 19% of the population of Turkey, 15-20% of the population of Iraq and are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Iran.

The Peshmerga is a more than 100,000-strong national military force which protects Iraqi Kurdistan, and includes female fighters.

October 30, 1918 – (TURKEY) The Armistice of Mudros marks the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

November 3, 1918 – (IRAQ) With the discovery of oil in the Kurdish province of Mosul, British forces occupy the region.

August 10, 1920 – (TURKEY) The Treaty of Sèvres outlines the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, with Turkey renouncing rights over certain areas in Asia and North Africa. It calls for the recognition of new independent states, including an autonomous Kurdistan. It is never ratified.

July 24, 1923 – (TURKEY) The Allies and the former Ottoman Empire sign and ratify the Treaty of Lausanne, which recognizes Turkey as an independent nation. In the final treaty marking the conclusion of World War I, the Allies drop demands for an autonomous Turkish Kurdistan. The Kurdish region is eventually divided among several countries.

1923 – (IRAQ) Former Kurdish Governor Sheikh Mahmud Barzinji stages an uprising against British rule, declaring a Kurdish kingdom in Sulaimaniya in northern Iraq.

1924 – (IRAQ) British Forces retake Sulaimaniya.

1943-1945 – (IRAQ/IRAN) Mustafa Barzani leads an uprising, gaining control of areas of Erbil and Badinan. When the uprising is defeated, Barzani and his forces retreat to Kurdish areas in Iran and align with nationalist fighters under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad.

January 1946 – (IRAN) The Kurdish Republic of Mahābād is established as a Kurdish state, with backing from the Soviet Union. The short-lived country encompasses the city of Mahābād in Iran, which is largely Kurdish and near the Iraq border. However, Soviets withdraw the same year and the Republic of Mahābād collapses.

August 16, 1946 – (IRAQ) The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) is established.

1957 – (SYRIA) 250 Kurdish children die in an arson attack on a cinema. It is blamed on Arab nationalists.

1958 – (SYRIA) The government formally bans all Kurdish-language publications.

1958 – (IRAQ) After Iraq’s 1958 revolution, a new constitution is established, which declares Arabs and Kurds as “partners in this homeland.”

1961 – (IRAQ) KDP begins a rebellion in northern Iraq. Within two weeks, the Iraqi government dissolves the Kurdish Democratic Party.

March 1970 – (IRAQ) A peace agreement between Iraqi government and Kurds grants the Kurds autonomy. Kurdish is recognized as an official language, and an amendment to the constitution states: “the Iraqi people is made up of two nationalities: the Arab nationality and the Kurdish nationality.”

March 6, 1975 – (ALGERIA) Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran sign a treaty. Iraq gives up claims to the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, while Iran agrees to end its support of the independence seeking Kurds.

June 1975 – (IRAQ) Former KDP Leader Jalal Talabani, establishes the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The following year, PUK takes up an armed campaign against the Iraqi government.

1978 – (IRAQ) KDP and PUK forces clash, leaving many dead.

1978 – (TURKEY) Abdullah Öcalan forms the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group.

Late 1970s – (IRAQ) The Baath Party, under Hussein’s leadership, uproots Kurds from areas with Kurdish majorities, and settles southern-Iraqi Arabs into those regions. Into the 1980s, Kurds are forcibly removed from the Iranian border as Kurds are suspected of aiding Iranian forces during the Iran-Iraq War.

1979 – (IRAQ) Mustafa Barzani dies in Washington, DC. His son, Massoud Barzani, is elected president of KDP following his death.

1980 – (IRAQ) The Iran-Iraq War begins. Although the KDP forces work closely with Iran, the PUK does not.

1983 – (IRAQ) PUK agrees to a ceasefire with Iraq and begins negotiations on Kurdish autonomy.

August 1984 – (TURKEY) PKK launches a violent separatist campaign in Turkey, starting with killing two soldiers. The conflict eventually spreads to Iran, Iraq and Syria.

1985 – (IRAQ) The ceasefire between Iraq and PUK breaks down.

1986 – (IRAQ) After an Iranian-sponsored reconciliation, both KDP and PUK receive support from Tehran.

1987 – (TURKEY) Turkey imposes a state of emergency in the southeastern region of the country in response to PKK attacks.

February-August 1988 – (IRAQ) During Operation Anfal (“spoils” in Arabic), created to quell Kurdish resistance, the Iraqi military uses large quantities of chemical weapons on Kurdish civilians. Iraqi forces destroy more than 4,000 villages in Kurdistan. It is believed that some 100,000 Kurds were killed.

March 16, 1988 – (IRAQ) Iraq uses poison gas against the Kurdish people in Halabja in northern Iraq. Thousands of people are believed to have died in the attack.

1990-1991 – (IRAQ) The Gulf War begins when Hussein invades Kuwait, seeking its oil reserves. There is a mass exodus of Kurds out of Iraq as more than a million flee into Turkey and Iran.

February 28, 1991 – (IRAQ) Hussein agrees to a ceasefire, ending the Gulf War.

March 1991 – (IRAQ) Kurdish uprising begins, and in two weeks, the Kurdish militia gains control of Iraqi Kurdistan, including the oil-rich town of Kirkuk. After allied support to the Kurds is denied, Iraq crushes the uprising. Two million Kurds flee, but are forced to hide out in the mountains as Turkey closes its border.

April 1991 – (IRAQ) A safe haven is established in Iraqi Kurdistan by the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Iraqi forces are barred from operating within the region, and Kurds begin autonomous rule, with KDP leading the north and PUK leading the south.

1992 – (IRAQ) In an anti-PKK operation, 20,000 Turkish troops enter Kurdish safe havens in Iraq.

1994-1998 – (IRAQ) PUK and KDP members engage in armed conflict, known as the Fratricide War, in Iraqi Kurdistan.

1995 – (IRAQ) Approximately 35,000 Turkish troops launch an offensive against Kurds in northern Iraq.

1996 – (IRAQ) Iraq launches attacks against Kurdish cities, including Erbil and Kirkuk.

October 8, 1997 – (TURKEY) The United States lists PKK as a terrorist group.

1998 – (IRAQ) The conflict between KDP and PUK ends, and a peace agreement is reached. This is brokered by the United States, and the accord is signed in Washington.

1999 – (TURKEY) PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is captured in Nairobi, Kenya, by Turkish officials.

2002 – (TURKEY) Under pressure from the European Union, Turkey legalizes broadcasts and education in the Kurdish language. Turkish forces still combat PKK, including military incursions into northern Iraq.

May 2002 – (TURKEY) The European Union designates the PKK as a terrorist organization.

February 1, 2004 – (IRAQ) Two suicide bombs kill more than 50 people in Erbil. The targets are the headquarters of KDP and PUK, and several top Kurdish officials from both parties are killed.

March 2004 – (SYRIA) Nine people are killed at a football (soccer) arena in Qamishli after clashes with riot police. Kurds demonstrate throughout the city, and unrest spreads to nearby towns in the following days, after security forces open fire at the funerals.

June 2004 – (TURKEY) State TV broadcasts Kurdish-language programs for the first time.

April 6-7, 2005 – (IRAQ) Kurdish leader Talabani is selected the country’s president by the transitional national assembly, and is sworn in the next day.

July 2005 – (TURKEY) Six people die from a bomb planted on a train by a Kurdish guerrilla. Turkish officials blame the PKK.

2005 – (IRAQ) The 2005 Iraqi constitution upholds Kurdish autonomy, and designates Kurdistan as an autonomous federal region.

August-September 2006 – (TURKEY) A wave of bomb attacks target a resort area in Turkey, as well as Istanbul. Separatist group Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAC) claims responsibility for most of the attacks and threatens it will turn Turkey into “hell.”

December 2007 – (TURKEY) Turkey launches attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting PKK outposts.

2009 – (TURKEY) A policy called the Kurdish Initiative increases Kurdish language rights and reduces military presence in the mostly Kurdish southeast.

September 2010 – (IRAN) A bomb detonates during a parade in Mahābād, leaving 12 dead and dozens injured. No group claims responsibility for the attack, but authorities blame Kurdish separatists. In 2014, authorities arrest members of Koumaleh, a Kurdish armed group, for the attack.

April 2011 – (SYRIA) Syria grants citizenship to thousands in the Kurdish region. According to Human Rights Watch, an exceptional census stripped 20% of Kurdish Syrians of their citizenship in 1962.

October 2011 – (SYRIA) Meshaal Tammo, a Syrian Kurdish activist, is assassinated. Many Kurds blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for the assassination.

October 19, 2011 – (TURKEY) Kurdish militants kill 24 Turkish troops near the Iraqi border, a PKK base area.

June 2012 – (TURKEY) Turkish forces strike PKK rebel bases in Iraq after a PKK attack in southern Turkey kills eight Turkish soldiers.

July 2012 – (SYRIA) Amid the country’s civil war, Syrian security forces retreat from several Kurdish towns in the northeastern part of the country.

August 2012 – (TURKEY) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns that any attempts by the PKK to launch cross-border attacks from Syria would be met by force; the Turkish Army then performs a large exercise less than a mile from border villages now controlled by the Syrian Kurdish group Democratic Union Party (PYD).

December 2012 – (TURKEY) Erdogan announces the government has begun peace talks with the PKK.

January 10, 2013 – (FRANCE) Three Kurdish women are found shot dead in Paris, one of whom was a founding member of the PKK.

March 21, 2013 – (TURKEY) Imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan calls for dialogue: a letter from him is read in the Turkish Parliament, “We for tens of years gave up our lives for this struggle, we paid a price. We have come to a point at which the guns must be silent and ideas must talk.”

March 25, 2013 – (TURKEY) Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani negotiate a framework deal that includes an outline for a direct pipeline export of oil and gas. The pipeline would have the Kurdish crude oil transported from the Kurdish Regional Government directly into Turkey, allowing the KRG to be a competitive supplier of oil to Turkey.

June 2014 – (IRAQ) Refugees flee fighting and flood into Iraqi Kurdistan to the north as ISIS militants take over Mosul. Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) closes then reopens, with restrictions, border crossings used by those fleeing ISIS.

June 23, 2014 – (IRAQ) Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani says that “Iraq is obviously falling apart, and it’s obvious that the federal or central government has lost control over everything.”

Early August 2014 – (IRAQ) Reportedly 40,000 Yazidi, a minority group of Kurdish descent, flee to a mountainous region in northwestern Iraq to escape ISIS, after the group storms Sinjar, a town near the Syrian border. Also, 100,000 Christians flee to Erbil, after Kurdish leadership there promises protection in the city.

August 11, 2014 – (IRAQ) Kurdish fighters in Kurdistan, who are called Peshmerga, work with Iraqi armed forces to deliver aid to Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar after fleeing ISIS fighters.

August 12, 2014 – (IRAQ) Some Yazidi tell CNN that PKK fighters control parts of the mountain, and have offered food and protection from ISIS.

December 2, 2014 – (IRAQ) The government of Iraq and the government of Iraqi Kurdistan sign an agreement to share oil revenues and military resources. Iraq will now pay the salaries of Peshmerga fighters battling ISIS and act as an intermediary to deliver US weapons to Kurdish forces. The Kurdistan government will deliver more than half a million barrels of oil daily to the Iraqi government. Profits from the sale of the oil will be split between the two governments.

January 26, 2015 – (SYRIA) After 112 days of fighting, the YPG, Kurdish fighters also known as the People’s Protection Units, take control of the city of Kobani from ISIS.

March 21, 2015 – (TURKEY) In a letter read to thousands during a celebration in the city of Diyarbakir, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urges fighters under his command to lay down their arms, stop waging war against the Turkish state and join a “congress.”

May 18, 2015 – (TURKEY) In the run-up to parliamentary elections on June 7, an explosion rocks the office of the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Adana, in southeastern Turkey. Six people are injured.

June 7, 2015 – (TURKEY) Three-year-old fledgling party Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) receives more than 13% of the vote, winning 80 seats in the 550-seat parliament.

June 16, 2015 – (SYRIA) Kurdish forces in the Syrian town, Tal Abyad say they have defeated ISIS fighters and taken back the town on the Turkish border.

June 23, 2015 – (SYRIA) Kurdish fighters announce that they have taken back the town of Ain Issa, located 30 miles north of the ISIS stronghold, Raqqa, a city proclaimed to be the capital of the caliphate. A military base near Ain Issa, which had been occupied by ISIS since last August, is abandoned by the terrorist group the night before the Kurdish forces seize the town.

February 17, 2016 – (IRAQ) Turkish airstrikes target some of the PKK’s top figures in northern Iraq’s Haftanin region. Airstrikes come after a terrorist attack in Turkey kills 28, although no Kurdish group has claimed responsibility for those attacks.

March 13, 2016 – (TURKEY) A car bomb attack kills at least 37 people in Ankara. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK – an offshoot of the Kurdish separatist group PKK – takes responsibility for the attack.

March 17, 2016 – (SYRIA) Kurds declare that a swath of northeastern Syria is now a separate autonomous region under Kurdish control. The claim stirs up controversy, as Syrian and Turkish officials say it goes against the goal of creating a unified country after years of civil war.

July 20, 2016 – (TURKEY) Following a failed coup attempt, President Erdogan declares a state of emergency. In the first three months, pro-Kurdish media outlets are shut down, and tens of thousands of civil servants with alleged PKK connections are dismissed or suspended. The purge includes ministers of parliament, military leaders, police, teachers and mayors, including in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir.

September 25, 2017 – (IRAQ) Iraqi Kurds vote in favor of declaring independence from Iraq. More than 92% of the roughly 3 million people vote “yes” to independence.

March 23, 2019 – (SYRIA) Kurdish forces announce they have captured the eastern Syrian pocket of Baghouz, the last populated area under ISIS rule.

October 9, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) Turkey launches a military offensive into northeastern Syria, just days after US President Donald Trump’s administration announced that US troops would leave the border area. Erdogan’s “Operation Peace Spring” is an effort to drive away Kurdish forces from the border, and use the area to resettle around two million Syrian refugees. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who operate in the region are Kurdish-led, and still hold thousands of ISIS fighters captured in battle.

October 17, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) US Vice President Mike Pence announces that he and Erdogan agreed to a ceasefire halting Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria. The Turkish government insists that the agreement is not a ceasefire, but only a “pause” on operations in the region.

November 15, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) Turkey’s decision to launch a military operation targeting US-Kurdish partners in northern Syria and the Trump administration’s subsequent retreat allowed ISIS to rebuild itself and boosted its ability to launch attacks abroad, the Pentagon’s Inspector General says in an Operation Inherent Resolve quarterly report.

March 24, 2020 – (SYRIA) The SDF releases a statement calling for a humanitarian truce in response to a United Nations appeal for a global ceasefire to combat the coronavirus.

July 30, 2020 – (SYRIA) During a US Senate committee hearing, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirms the Trump administration’s support for the Delta Crescent Energy firm’s deal to develop and modernize oil fields in northeast Syria under control of the SDF. The following week, Syria’s foreign ministry calls the deal an attempt to “steal” the oil.

February 8, 2021 – (SYRIA) Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby is questioned about the Delta Crescent Energy deal during a press conference. He says that the US Department of Defense under the Joe Biden administration is focused on fighting ISIS. It is not aiding a private company.

January 20-26, 2022 – (SYRIA) ISIS lays siege to a prison in northeast Syria, in an attempt to break out thousands of the group’s members who were detained in 2019. In coordination with US-led coalition airstrikes, SDF regains control of the prison. This is believed to be the biggest coordinated attack by ISIS since the fall of the caliphate three years prior.

September 16, 2022 – (IRAN) Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, dies after being detained by “morality police” and taken to a “re-education center,” allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code. Public anger over her death combines with a range of grievances against the Islamic Republic’s oppressive regime to fuel months of nationwide demonstrations, which continue despite law makers urging the country’s judiciary to “show no leniency” to protesters.

November 12, 2022 – (IRAN) The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO) group claims Iranian security forces have killed at least 326 people since nationwide protests erupted two months ago. Authorities have unleashed a deadly crackdown on demonstrators, with reports of forced detentions and physical abuse being used to target the country’s Kurdish minority group.

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April 10, 2024
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April 9, 2024
Syrian Civil War Fast Facts | CNN

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CNN
—

Here’s a look at ongoing civil war in Syria.

Bashar al-Assad has ruled Syria as president since July 2000. His father, Hafez al-Assad, ruled Syria from 1970-2000.

The ongoing violence against civilians has been condemned by the Arab League, the European Union, the United States and other countries.

Roughly 5 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and more than 6.8 million people are displaced internally.

According to UNICEF’s Representative in Syria, Bo Viktor Nylund, “Since 2011, nearly 12,000 children were verified as killed or injured in Syria, that’s one child every eight hours over the past ten years.” Nylund said that the actual figures are likely much higher.

When the civil war began in 2011, there were four main factions of fighting groups throughout the country: Kurdish forces, ISIS, other opposition (such as Jaish al Fateh, an alliance between the Nusra Front and Ahrar-al-Sham) and the Assad regime.

March 2011 – Violence flares in Daraa after a group of teens and children are arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people are killed when security forces crack down on demonstrations.

March 24, 2011 – In response to continuing protests, the Syrian government announces several plans to appease citizens. State employees will receive an immediate salary increase. The government also plans to study lifting Syria’s long standing emergency law and the licensing of new political parties.

March 30, 2011 – Assad addresses the nation in a 45-minute televised speech. He acknowledges that the government has not met the people’s needs, but he does not offer any concrete changes. The state of emergency remains in effect.

April 21, 2011 – Assad lifts the country’s 48-year-old state of emergency. He also abolishes the Higher State Security Court and issues a decree “regulating the right to peaceful protest, as one of the basic human rights guaranteed by the Syrian Constitution.”

May 18, 2011 – The United States imposes sanctions against Assad and six other senior Syrian officials. The Treasury Department details the sanctions by saying, “As a result of this action, any property in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons in which the individuals listed in the Annex have an interest is blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.”

August 18, 2011 – The US imposes new economic sanctions on Syria, freezing Syrian government assets in the US, barring Americans from making new investments in the country and prohibiting any US transactions relating to Syrian petroleum products, among other things.

September 2, 2011 – The European Union bans the import of Syrian oil.

September 23, 2011 – The EU imposes additional sanctions against Syria, due to “the continuing brutal campaign” by the government against its own people.

October 2, 2011 – A new alignment of Syrian opposition groups establishes the Syrian National Council, a framework through which to end Assad’s government and establish a democratic system.

October 4, 2011 – Russia and China veto a UN Security Council resolution that would call for an immediate halt to the crackdown in Syria against opponents of Assad. Nine of the 15-member council countries, including the United States, voted in favor of adopting the resolution.

November 12, 2011 – The Arab League suspends Syria’s membership, effective November 16, 2011.

November 27, 2011 – Foreign ministers from 19 Arab League countries vote to impose economic sanctions against the Syrian regime for its part in a bloody crackdown on civilian demonstrators.

November 30, 2011 – Turkey announces a series of measures, including financial sanctions, against Syria.

December 19, 2011 – Syria signs an Arab League proposal aimed at ending violence between government forces and protesters.

January 28, 2012 – The Arab League suspends its mission in Syria as violence there continues.

February 2, 2012 – A UN Security Council meeting ends with no agreement on a draft resolution intended to pressure Syria to end its crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.

February 4, 2012 – A UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria is not adopted after Russia and China vote against it.

February 6, 2012 – The United States closes its embassy in Damascus and recalls its diplomats.

February 7, 2012 – The Gulf Cooperation Council announces its member states are pulling their ambassadors from Damascus and expelling the Syrian ambassadors in their countries.

February 16, 2012 – The United Nations General Assembly passes a nonbinding resolution endorsing the Arab League plan for Assad to step down. The vote was 137 in favor and 12 against, with 17 abstentions.

February 26, 2012 – Syrians vote on a constitutional referendum in polling centers across the country. Almost 90% of voters approve the changes to the constitution, which include the possibility of a multi-party system.

March 13, 2012 – Kofi Annan, the UN special envoy to Syria, meets in Turkey with government officials and Syrian opposition members. In a visit to Syria over the weekend, he calls for a ceasefire, the release of detainees and allowing unfettered access to relief agencies to deliver much-needed aid.

March 15, 2012 – The Gulf Cooperation Council announces that the six member countries will close their Syrian embassies and calls on the international community “to stop what is going on in Syria.”

March 27, 2012 – The Syrian government accepts Annan’s plan to end violence. The proposal seeks to stop the violence, give access to humanitarian agencies, release detainees and start a political dialogue to address the concerns of the Syrian people.

April 1, 2012 – At a conference in Istanbul, the international group Friends of the Syrian People formally recognizes the Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

July 30, 2012 – The Syrian Charge d’Affaires in London, Khaled al-Ayoubi, resigns, stating he is “no longer willing to represent a regime that has committed such violent and oppressive acts against its own people.”

August 2, 2012 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announces that Annan will not renew his mandate when it expires at the end of August.

August 6, 2012 – Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab’s resignation from office and defection from Assad’s regime is read on Al Jazeera by his spokesman Muhammad el-Etri. Hijab and his family are said to have left Syria overnight, arriving in Jordan. Hijab is the highest-profile official to defect.

August 9, 2012 – Syrian television reports that Assad has appointed Health Minister Wael al-Halki as the new prime minister.

October 3, 2012 – Five people are killed by Syrian shelling in the Turkish border town of Akcakale. In response, Turkey fires on Syrian targets and its parliament authorizes a resolution giving the government permission to deploy its soldiers to foreign countries.

November 11, 2012 – Israel fires warning shots toward Syria after a mortar shell hits an Israeli military post. It is the first time Israel has fired on Syria across the Golan Heights since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

November 11, 2012 – Syrian opposition factions formally agree to unite as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

November 13, 2012 – Sheikh Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib is elected leader of the Syrian opposition collective, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

January 6, 2013 – Assad announces he will not step down and that his vision of Syria’s future includes a new constitution and an end to support for the opposition. The opposition refuses to work with Assad’s government.

March 19, 2013 – The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces elects Ghassan Hitto as its prime minister. Though born in Damascus, Hitto has spent much of his life in the United States, and holds dual US and Syrian citizenship.

April 25, 2013 – US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announces the United States has evidence that the chemical weapon sarin has been used in Syria on a small scale.

May 27, 2013 – EU nations end the arms embargo against the Syrian rebels.

June 13, 2013 – US President Barack Obama says that Syria has crossed a “red line” with its use of chemical weapons against rebels. His administration indicates that it will be stepping up its support of the rebels, who have been calling for the US and others to provide arms needed to battle Assad’s forces.

July 6, 2013 – Ahmad Assi Jarba is elected the new leader of the Syrian National Coalition.

August 18, 2013 – A team of UN weapons inspectors arrives in Syria to begin an investigation into whether chemical weapons have been used during the civil war.

August 22, 2013 – The UN and the US call for an immediate investigation of Syrian activists’ claims that the Assad government used chemical weapons in an attack on civilians on August 21. Anti-regime activist groups in Syria say more than 1,300 people were killed in the attack outside Damascus, many of them women and children.

August 24, 2013 – Medical charity Doctors Without Borders announces that three hospitals near Damascus treated more than 3,000 patients suffering “neurotoxic symptoms” on August 21. Reportedly, 355 of the patients died.

August 26, 2013 – UN inspectors reach the site of a reported chemical attack in Moadamiyet al-Sham, near Damascus. En route to the site, the team’s convoy is hit by sniper fire. No one is injured.

August 29, 2013 – The UK’s Parliament votes against any military action in Syria.

August 30, 2013 – US Secretary of State John Kerry says that US intelligence information has found that 1,429 people were killed in last week’s chemical weapons attack in Syria, including at least 426 children.

September 9, 2013 – Syria agrees to a Russian proposal to give up control of its chemical weapons.

September 10, 2013 – In a speech, Obama says he will not “put American boots on the ground in Syria,” but does not rule out other military options.

September 14, 2013 – The United States and Russia agree to a plan to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria.

September 16, 2013 – The United Nations releases a report from chemical weapons inspectors who investigated the August 21 incident. Inspectors say there is “clear and convincing evidence” that sarin was used.

September 20, 2013 – Syria releases an initial report on its chemical weapons program.

September 27, 2013 – The UN Security Council passes a resolution requiring Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons. Assad says he will abide by the resolution.

September 30, 2013 – At the UN General Assembly in New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem says that Syria is not engaged in a civil war, but a war on terror.

October 6, 2013 – Syria begins dismantling its chemical weapons program, including the destruction of missile warheads and aerial bombs.

October 31, 2013 – The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announces that Syria has destroyed all its declared chemical weapons production facilities.

November 25, 2013 – The United Nations announces that starting January 22 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Syrian government and an unknown number of opposition groups will meet at a “Geneva II” conference meant to broker an end to the Syrian civil war.

December 2, 2013 – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says that a UN fact-finding team has found “massive evidence” that the highest levels of the Syrian government are responsible for war crimes.

January 20, 2014 – The Syria National Coalition announces it won’t participate in the Geneva II talks unless the United Nations rescinds its surprise invitation to Iran or Iran agrees to certain conditions. The United Nations later rescinds Iran’s invitation.

February 13, 2014 – The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons tells CNN that Syria has shipped out 11% of its chemical weapons stockpile, falling far short of the February 5 deadline to have all such arms removed from the country.

February 15, 2014 – A second round of peace talks ends in Geneva, Switzerland, with little progress in ending Syria’s civil war.

February 23, 2014 – The UN Security Council unanimously passes a resolution boosting access to humanitarian aid in Syria.

June 3, 2014 – Assad is reelected, reportedly receiving 88.7% of the vote in the country’s first election since civil war broke out in 2011.

September 22-23, 2014 – The United States and allies launch airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria, focusing on the city of Raqqa.

September 14-15, 2015 – A Pentagon spokesperson says the Russian military appears to be attempting to set up a forward operating base in western Syria, in the area around the port city of Latakia. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia is supporting the Syrian government in its fight against ISIS.

October 30, 2015 – White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that the US will be deploying “less than 50” Special Operations forces, who will be sent to Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria. The American troops will help local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS with logistics and are planning to bolster their efforts.

February 26, 2016 – A temporary cessation of hostilities goes into effect. The truce calls for the Syrian regime and rebels to give relief organizations access to disputed territories so they can assist civilians.

March 15, 2016 – Russia starts withdrawing its forces from Syria. A spokeswoman for Assad tells CNN that the Russian campaign is winding down after achieving its goal of helping Syrian troops take back territory claimed by terrorists.

September 15, 2016 – At least 23 people, including nine children, are killed during airstrikes in Syria, with the United States and Russia accusing each other of violating the ceasefire in effect since September 12.

September 17, 2016 – US-led coalition airstrikes near Deir Ezzor Airport intended to target ISIS instead kill 62 Syrian soldiers.

September 20, 2016 – An aid convoy and warehouse of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are bombed; no one claims responsibility. The strike prompts the UN to halt aid operations in Syria.

September 23-25, 2016 – About 200 airstrikes hit Aleppo during the weekend, with one activist telling CNN it is a level of bombing they have not seen before.

December 13, 2016 – As government forces take control of most of Aleppo from rebel groups, Turkey and Russia broker a ceasefire for eastern Aleppo so that civilians can be evacuated. The UN Security Council holds an emergency session amid reports of mounting civilian deaths and extrajudicial killings. The ceasefire collapses less than a day after it is implemented.

December 22, 2016 – Syria’s state-run media announces government forces have taken full control of Aleppo, ending more than four years of rebel rule there.

April 4, 2017 – Dozens of civilians are reportedly killed in a suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that gas was released when Syrian forces bombed a chemical munitions depot operated by terrorists. Activists, however, say that Syrians carried out a targeted chemical attack.

April 6, 2017 – The United States launches a military strike on a Syrian government airbase in response to the chemical weapon attack on civilians. On US President Donald Trump’s orders, US warships launch 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the airbase which was home to the warplanes that carried out the chemical attacks.

July 7, 2017 – Trump and Putin reach an agreement on curbing violence in southwest Syria during their meeting at the G20 in Hamburg, Germany. The ceasefire will take effect in the de-escalation zone beginning at noon Damascus time on July 9.

October 17, 2017 – ISIS loses control of its self-declared capital, Raqqa. US-backed forces fighting in Raqqa say “major military operations” have ended, though there are still pockets of resistance in the city.

October 26, 2017 – A joint report from the United Nations and international chemical weapons inspectors finds that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 2017 sarin attack that killed more than 80 people. Syria has repeatedly denied it had anything to do with the attack and also denies it has any chemical weapons.

February 24, 2018 – The UN Security Council unanimously approves a 30-day ceasefire resolution in Syria, though it is unclear when the ceasefire is meant to start, or how it will be enforced.

February 27, 2018 – Within minutes of when a five-hour “humanitarian pause” ordered by Putin – from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – is meant to start, activists on the ground report shelling and artillery fire from pro-regime positions, killing at least one person in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

April 7, 2018 – Helicopters drop barrel bombs filled with toxic gas on the last rebel-held town in Eastern Ghouta, activist groups say. The World Health Organization later says that as many as 500 people may have been affected by the attack.

April 14, 2018 – The United States, France and the United Kingdom launch airstrikes on Syria in response to the chemical weapons attack in Eastern Ghouta a week earlier.

September 17, 2018 – Russia and Turkey announce they have agreed to create a demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib province, potentially thwarting a large-scale military operation and impending humanitarian disaster in the country’s last rebel stronghold. The zone, which will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian military units, will become operational from October 15.

December 19, 2018 – Trump tweets, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.” A US defense official and an administration official tell CNN that planning for the “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of US military from Syria is already underway.

March 23, 2019 – Kurdish forces announce they have captured the eastern Syrian pocket of Baghouz, the last populated area under ISIS rule.

October 9, 2019 – Turkey launches a military offensive into northeastern Syria, just days after the Trump administration announced that US troops would leave the border area. Erdogan’s “Operation Peace Spring” is an effort to drive away Kurdish forces from the border, and use the area to resettle around two million Syrian refugees.

March 5, 2020 – Turkey and Russia announce a ceasefire in Idlib, Syria’s last opposition enclave, agreeing to establish a security corridor with joint patrols.

April 8, 2020 – The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) releases a report concluding that Syrian government forces were responsible for a series of chemical attacks on a Syrian town in late March 2017.

May 26, 2021 – Assad is reelected.

In photos: Syria’s civil war

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April 4, 2024
3/25: Prime Time with John Dickerson

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3/25: Prime Time with John Dickerson – CBS News

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John Dickerson reports on the federal raids of homes owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs, Donald Trump’s reduced bond in his New York civil fraud trial, and what to know about ISIS-K after the attack in Moscow.

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March 25, 2024
3/24: CBS Weekend News

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3/24: CBS Weekend News – CBS News

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Deadline for Trump’s bond approaching; Man turns Easter egg order mishap into charity opportunity

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March 24, 2024
3/22: CBS News Weekender

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3/22: CBS News Weekender – CBS News

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Lana Zak reports on Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, a deadly attack on a concert hall in Moscow, and a preview of the top NCAA Women’s Basketball games.

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March 22, 2024
Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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… Monday.
Under current state law, marijuana establishments must pay a community … the costs imposed by the marijuana establishment.
“Reasonably related” means there … offset the operation of a marijuana establishment. Those costs could include …

Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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January 28, 2024
U.S. condemns Iran’s “reckless missile strikes” near new American consulate in Erbil, northern Iraq

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Erbil, Iraq — Iran’s foreign minister confirmed Tuesday that his country’s forces had launched ballistic missiles at targets in both Iraq and Syria, as the U.S. and Iraq condemned deadly strikes that hit close to the under-construction U.S. consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.

It was yet another manifestation of violence likely linked to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Iran’s Hamas allies. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also been targeting commercial vessels in the strategic Red Sea shipping lanes for weeks in response to the war.

Three armed drones were shot down over Erbil’s airport later Tuesday. The U.S. has forces based at the airport, part of an international coalition battling ISIS in the region. There was no immediate word on damage.

The drones were downed just hours after Iran launched at least 11 missiles targeting what it claimed was an Israeli intelligence headquarters in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, killing four civilians.

Teams carry out search and rescue operations after drone and missile attacks in Erbil, northern Iraq, carried out by Iran, Jan. 16, 2024.

Karzan Mohammad Othman/Anadolu/Getty

The Iraqi government condemned the attack, ordered an investigation and told its ambassador in Iran to come home and report on the strikes, while also summoning Iran’s top diplomat in Baghdad for discussions.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it “strongly condemns Iran’s attacks in Erbil,” lambasting the “reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq’s stability.”

Iran claims it hit an Israeli spy base

Iran said the attacks were retaliation for “anti-Iran groups” in the region, including ISIS, after a deadly attack last week in the Iranian city of Kerman. Two large blasts just minutes apart targeted a commemoration on Jan. 4 for a prominent Iranian general who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in 2020. The attack in Kerman left almost 90 people dead.

In the Erbil strikes, Iranian missiles hit the home of well-known Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayi, who was killed along with his 1-year-old daughter. His two sons and wife were seriously wounded.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards military unit said in a statement that “one of the main Mossad [Israeli intelligence] espionage headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles,” calling the Erbil strikes a response to “recent atrocities” it blamed on Israel.

A damaged building is seen following a missile strike launched by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Erbil, northern Iraq, Jan. 16, 2024.

SAFIN HAMID/AFP/Getty

It cited, specifically, “the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance,” a term Iran uses to refer to the loosely affiliated anti-Israel groups it supports in the region, including Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“Everything to do with the U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat”

It was the second time since March 2022 that the Iranian Guards had directly targeted Erbil, and both times they used the same justification. In 2022, the home of another Kurdish businessman was targeted with eight ballistic missiles.

Since Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the Palestinian group’s bloody Oct. 7 terror attack, Iran’s proxies across the region have intensified attacks on U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq and Syria, including many around Erbil.

“Last night’s attack has nothing to do with Israel or the Kurds, but it has everything to do with the U.S.-Iran tit-for-tat in the region,” said Hiwa Osman, a political analyst based in Erbil.

“This is a calculated Iranian act, within the parameters of the American’s tolerance, at the expense of the Kurds,” Osman told CBS News.

Israel & Hamas At War

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January 16, 2024
ISIS plotting to exploit chaos to make comeback after Iran bomb attack

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TERROR group ISIS could be plotting a blood-soaked comeback by exploiting the chaos in the Middle East.

Experts have been left fearing that the terror group could be “coming back to life” after they claimed to have been behind a deadly bombing in Iran that killed 103 people.

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ISIS could be planning a bloody comeback by exploiting the current chaos in the Middle EastCredit: Alamy

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ISIS claimed two of their terrorists were behind the Iran bombing that killed over 100 peopleCredit: Reuters

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Experts are fearing ISIS could be ‘coming back to life’ years after they were seemingly defeated in a huge world effort to eliminate the terror groupCredit: Alamy

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ISIS could be looking to gain back their reputation and gain more followers after Hamas have made headlines lately for their war with IsraelCredit: AP

Across the Middle East, tensions are running high as Lebanon‘s feared terrorist group Hezbollah and powerful Iran have made it clear they will support Hamas at all costs against Israel.

With threats between the three powerful groups continue – plus Hamas and Israel still battling in the battered Gaza strip – it could be the ideal time for ISIS to strike again.

At the height of its wicked ways, the Islamic State militant group held a terrifying reputation after causing terror for millions of people.

From recorded bloody beheadings to twisted planned attacks on innocent civilians, ISIS had created a near unthinkable empire of destruction.

read more in terror groups

They had control over parts of Iraq and Syria and were in fierce fights with countries across the world.

But after multiple deaths to the group’s leaders and setbacks in Middle Eastern territories their power dwindled as almost the whole world came together to push them back.

For years they have remained quiet and been seen as a neutralised threat by world leaders only for the latest attacks in the Middle East to spark up big concerns yet again.

Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, from Middle East Forum, told Reuters that they are now looking to get back to a period of dominance and install fear back into people’s lives.

“The group’s goals remain ever the same: waging jihad against all the group’s enemies in order to establish the territorial Caliphate that should eventually rule the whole world,” he said.

Iran bomb attack

ISIS said two of their suicide bombers were responsible for the blasts at a memorial parade for infamous Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Wednesday.

In a statement on Telegram, the group said terrorists Omar al-Muwahid and Sayfullah al-Mujahid, “activated their explosives vests” in the southern city of Kerman.

ISIS, known for the unprecedented attacks on civilians, launched their latest heinous strike during a tense few days in the Middle East that was left many worried about the potential escalation of war.

Colonel Richard Kemp spoke to The Sun about why he thinks ISIS claimed the horrific bombings.

He said: “I would imagine it’s to rally support for themselves, if they can appear to seem more active than they are at the moment it’s a way of gaining global support and any type of terror success works that way.”

“It may be that they sense the opportunity with conflicts going on elsewhere to jump in themselves.”

The retired British Army officer – who served for almost 30 years – feels that ISIS is looking to get back in the spotlight after the brutal war in Gaza continues to dominate conversations across the globe.

He continued: “With the attention of the world on Hamas they may want attention to turn to them to rally support and show people they’re still around.”

“Rather than a warning it’s more of them gaining support around world and recruiting to their cause, getting financial assistance and that sort of thing as they’ve been somewhat marginalised recently.

“It may be an indication that they’re coming back to life.”

In a recent post on X, Executive Director of The Henry Jackson Society, Alan Mendoza, described ISIS as “rearing its ugly head once more,” and voiced his concerns over what the terror group might do next.

He also told The Sun: “ISIS claiming responsibility for this bombing reminds us that ideological terrorist groups like this never truly disappear.

“With the Middle East at a very volatile point, ISIS’ remaining extremists will be looking at ways to exploit tensions and carve out space for themselves to operate once more.”

Middle East tensions

A day before the bomb attack, top Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri and Hezbollah leader Hussein Yazbek were killed in separate drone strikes.

Iran and Israel have been battling against each other ever since Iran declared their loyalty to Hamas.

The pair have long been working together including Iran funding operations and providing intelligence to the terrorist group for decades, according to reports.

Iran was also very vocal of their anger over the brutal airstrike condemning the killing of Arouri by “the aggressive Zionist regime”.

Iran, which sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah, also made their stance clear saying the assassination would only make Hamas stronger.

Hezbollah also declared those responsible would be met with a “severe reaction”.

All the strikes haven’t been claimed by Israel but many believe Iran and Hezbollah are plotting their revenge in the coming days as both blame Benjamin Netanyahu‘s nation for the drone attacks.

And Iran originally slammed Israel and the US for causing the bombings despite the US denying the pairs involvement.

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The goal of ISIS remains the same as it always has according to experts – to rule the worldCredit: Alamy

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The bombings in Iran was just the latest attack that has caused fears in the Middle East over an escalation of warCredit: Reuters

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Georgie English

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January 5, 2024
ISIS claim responsibility for Iran bomb attack that left 103 dead

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ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in Iran which left 103 dead at the memorial parade for infamous Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

The terror group identified two suicide bombers who carried out the blasts amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

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ISIS has claimed responsibility for the two bomb attacks which left 103 deadCredit: AP

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Two blasts struck crowds as they gathered to mark Soleimani’s deathCredit: EPA

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There are reportedly 181 wounded people with some in critical conditionCredit: AP

In a statement on Telegram, the group said two of its members “activated their explosives vests” at a gathering near the grave in the southern city of Kerman of slain Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani.

The terrorists responsible for the attack are named as Omar al-Muwahid and Sayfullah al-Mujahid.

The blasts, about 15 minutes apart, struck near the Martyrs Cemetery at the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque as supporters gathered to mark Soleimani’s death in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.

The state TV reported 181 wounded with some in critical condition.

Among those killed were three paramedics who rushed to the scene after the first explosion, said Iran‘s Red Crescent.

Online footage showed panicked crowds scrambling to flee as security personnel cordoned off the area.

State television showed bloodied victims lying on the ground and ambulances and rescue personnel racing to help them.

“We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded,” an eyewitness was quoted saying by the ISNA news agency.

“We only heard the explosion and saw people falling.”

President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the “heinous” crime as the Islamic Republic of Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning.

Following the devastating bombing, Iran vowed to “hunt down terrorists” and initially blamed Israel for killing of 103 people.

Iran’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, blamed the parade bombings in Iran on both the US and Israel.

However, the US dismissed any suggestions that Washington and Israel were involved.

Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a statement on Wednesday, saying: “”Cruel criminals must know that they will be strongly dealt with from now on and undoubtedly there will be a harsh response.”

Wednesday’s incident comes amid the rise of tension in the Middle-east following more attacks on Lebanon.

A day earlier, top Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri and Hezbollah leader Hussein Yazbek were killed in separate drone strikes.

There are now fears that the recent events could lead to a terrifying war across the Middle East.

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Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning following the attackCredit: AP

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Aiya Zhussupova

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January 4, 2024