FOR all its proximity to and intertwinement with Syria, Lebanon has hitherto remained relatively untouched by Islamic State (IS). The jihadists, who have claimed responsibility for attacks from Saudi Arabia to Libya, have never claimed an attack in Lebanon previously. And although several other bombings have struck the country they have all been claimed by other jihadist groups.
That now seems to have changed. On November 10th two suicide bombings killed at least 43 people and left more than 200 injured in attacks on Bourj al-Barajneh, a poor, busy area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. IS claimed responsibility for both, saying in a statement that two Palestinians and a Syrian had carried out the attacks against “apostates”.
The bombings, one outside a mosque and one near a bakery, struck a part of the city that is home mainly to Shias and is associated with Hizbullah, a militia and political party that has been fighting against IS and in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. But it is also home to many Syrian refugees, including large numbers of Sunnis, whose cause IS claims to uphold.
That IS would target the...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1MGrV1d
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