Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share this article with your facebook friends

 

IS Recaptures Kobani, Launches Attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait, and France

June 26, 2015 

 

At least 27 killed in armed attack on Sousse hotel in Tunisia, June 26, 2015	More than 25 killed in suicide bomb attack on mosque in Kuwait's capital, IS says responsible, June 26, 2015

An explosion in Kobani / Ayn Al-Arab, June 25, 2015	One decapitated, several wounded in French factory attack, June 26, 2015

At least 27 killed in armed attack on Sousse hotel in Tunisia: official

TUNIS, June 26, 2015 (Xinhua) --

At least 27 people were killed on Friday in an armed attack on a tourist hotel in Tunisia's resort district of Sousse on Friday, the interior ministry said.

The death toll from the attack is 27, including tourists, said Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui. However, the nationalities of the killed tourists remain so far unknown.

A group of armed men attacked hotel Marhaba Palace in the coastal city of Sousse, on Friday, causing several injuries among hotel residents, the spokesman to TAP news agency.

A security operation inside the hotel is ongoing, said Mohamed Ali Aroui earlier.

The city of Sousse, 140 km south of capital Tunis, is one of the most prominent touristic destinations in the country. Since the revolution, there was one terrorist attempt outside a hotel in the region. The attempt failed after the suicide bomber died before reaching the hotel's gate.

The North African nation has been battered by militant attacks. In March, two Tunisians returning from Libya killed 22 people at the national Bardo Museum.

Editor: Mengjie

More than 25 killed in suicide bomb attack on mosque in Kuwait's capital, IS says responsible

KUWAIT CITY, June 26, 2015 (Xinhua) --

Kuwait's interior ministry said on Friday that 25 people were killed and at least 202 others were wounded in a suicide bomb strike on a Shiite Muslim mosque after midday Friday prayers, while the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to media reports.

According to the official Kuwait News Agency, a blast rocked the Imam Sadiq Mosque, located in the busy neighborhood of al-Sawabir of the capital city.

The report also confirmed that there were a number of casualties and injuries, yet did not give exact figures.

At the explosion scene, local police has cordoned off the mosque and the surrounding area, and asked residents to stay away from the site, while ambulances were seen ferrying the wounded.

The IS group has claimed the deadly attack in a statement posted on the Internet, saying that the suicide bomber's name was Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed, and the target was a "temple of the rejectionists," which refers to Shiite Muslims by the extremist militants.

If proven to be true, then it is not the first time for the IS group to plot and carry out such attacks against mosques. It has claimed responsibility for bombings at two different Shiite mosques in neighboring Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.

On March 20, IS suicide bombers also attacked two mosques in Yemen's capital Sanaa and Houthi headquarters in the northern Saada province, killing at least 137 people, the most deadliest attacks in Yemen for decades.

Causalities are expected to grow as Friday's midday prayers have always been the most attended of the week, while the number of people joining the prayers would increase during Muslims' holy month of Ramadan that started on June 18.

Editor: Mengjie 

French president declares Isere attack a "terrorist" attack

PARIS, June 26, 2015 (Xinhua) --

French President Francois Hollande, who was in Brussels for European Council, on Friday declared the attack on a factory in France's Isere a "terrorist" attack.

He is returning to Paris to head an emergency meeting of security committee in the afternoon after the deadly attack.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Hollande would meet the concerned ministers and top military chiefs at 3:00 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).

"Unfortunately, a new terrorist attack occurred," Le Drian was quoted as saying by local media.

In a statement, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins, said a probe was opened for murder and attempted murder in an organized group in relation to terrorism, adding that anti-terrorism police was investigating the attack.

Earlier on Friday, two men stormed a gas company in Isere, southeast France and exploded gas containers. A least two people were wounded. A man was found decapitated at the site, with a flag of the Islamic State (IS) aside.

A presumed perpetrator, known to the intelligence services, was arrested shortly after the attack, reported local media.

One decapitated, several wounded in French factory attack

PARIS, June 26, 2015 (Xinhua) --

An explosion rocked a U.S. gas company in Isere, southeast France, leaving several wounded victims and a decapitated body was found at the site with an Islamist State (IS) flag aside, news channel BFMTV reported Friday.

Two men entered by force into a liquid air factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier at around 10:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) and exploded gas containers, according to the report.

French President Francois Hollande, who was in Brussels for the European Council, declared the attack at the gas company in Isere a "terrorist" attack.

A defense council is scheduled to be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Elysee with his presence.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who is on a visit to Latin America, ordered "greater vigilance" and stressed efforts "to immediately mobilize security forces on all the sensitive site."

The explosion is the second of such incidents that clouded the calm in France, after a slew of terror attacks in January this year which started with a deadly assault on a French satirical magazine.

IS militants kill 146 civilians in Syria's Kobane within 24 hours

DAMASCUS, June 26, 2015 (Xinhua) --

At least 146 civilians were killed and more than 200 others wounded over the past 24 hours by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria's predominantly-Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), a monitor group reported Friday.

Medical sources in Ayn al-Arab in northern Syria said 146 civilians were gunned down by the IS militants since Thursday morning, the time when the IS group infiltrated into parts of the city and detonated three car bombs while engaging in battles against Kurdish fighters affiliated with the People's Protection Units (YPG), according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

About 72 of the slain people were shot down in the village of Halnaj, 48 others in the district of Maqtaleh in the city and 26 civilians were shot dead in the town of Barkh Butan, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground.

The UK-based watchdog group said the death toll is likely to rise due to the high number of critically wounded people.

Tens of women and children were among those killed, said the Observatory, adding that the massacre is the second large-scale one for the IS militants since they killed over 900 people of the Shuaitat tribe in the eastern Deir al-Zour province.

A day earlier, the IS militants infiltrated into Ayn al-Arab in disguise, wearing the uniform of the Kurdish YPG fighters and allied rebel groups.

The IS members sneaked into parts of the city and snipers fanned out in several areas, triggering violent battles with YPG fighters, during which 28 IS militants were killed.

The Observatory said that the bodies of the IS militants were still tossed on the streets of Ayn al-Arab, adding that three explosions rocked that city, when three IS suicide bombers detonated three car bombs in different areas, mainly on the border point between Ayn al-Arab and Turkey.

The IS surprise attack against Ayn al-Arab has sent the chill down the civilians' spines there, as the IS had overran the city before and was forcibly dislodged out of the city five months ago.

Observers said the IS wanted to storm Ayn al-Arab to revenge the losses it has recently suffered at the hands of Kurdish fighters in predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

Over the past few days, the YPG and allied rebel groups stripped the IS of several towns and areas in the northern countryside of the IS de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria, pushing the IS to call for back-up forces to fortify its positions in the city of Raqqa.

Reports said the YPG and affiliated rebel groups are only 30 km from central Raqqa. 

IS militants storm Syria's northern city of Hasaka

DAMASCUS, June 25, 2015 (Xinhua) --

Islamic State (IS) militants on Thursday launched a major offensive on Syria's northern city of Hasaka, a monitor group reported.

Intense clashes broke out between Syrian government forces and IS militants in the southern districts of Hasaka, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog said the battles were coupled with intense shelling by both sides, and government airstrikes against the positions overran by IS in southern Hasaka.

IS militants detonated at least one booby-trapped vehicle at a government troops' checkpoint at the western entrance of Hasaka, said the Observatory, adding that the militants reached the Sport City street, adjacent to the Central Prison and the Criminal Intelligence Branch, after storming districts of Nashweh and Sharia in the southern and southwestern parts of Hasaka.

According to the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground inside Syria, at least 30 government soldiers and 20 IS militants were killed during Thursday's battles.

Meanwhile, Syria's state-run al-Ekhbarieh TV said government troops are fighting intense battles against IS militants in Nashweh neighborhood, which, it said, houses many displaced families from the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where the IS holds considerable sway.

It said the IS are committing crimes against the residents of that neighborhood.

The Kurds in Hasaka have a large community in the northern and northwestern parts of that city while the government troops hold positions in the southern part of Hasaka.

The Ekhbarieh TV said Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units are monitoring the battles in southern Hasaka without intervening.

Earlier this week, the IS staged several car bombings in Hasaka, leaving dozens of people wounded or killed.

The attack on Hasaka on Thursday has been the second in June.

The last attack was foiled by government forces, and the Kurdish fighters said then also that they would not interfere in the battles.

Abdul-Karim Sorkhan, a Kurdish leader, said both the Syrian forces and IS are antagonist to the Kurds, and that the Kurdish fighters are on standby to protect the densely Kurdish populated areas in the northern and western parts of the city.

Observers said the IS wants to storm Hasaka to revenge the losses it suffered at the hands of Kurdish fighters in predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

The group also wants to capture Hasaka to connect areas under its control in eastern Syria with its de facto capital of Raqqa province in northern Syria.

***

Share this article with your facebook friends