Radical groups are making their ways through the Middle East, destroying cities and people as they go.
One radical Syrian group affiliated with al-Qaeda said they led bombings in Damascus, Syria’s on Friday. The group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Liberation of the Levant Organization) said the attack was “a message to Iran” about support for Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The area is mostly under the President’s control. However, rebel groups are rampant in outer districts.
The two bombs killed at least 40 people, most of them Iraqi pilgrims, in the country’s capital. Although officials could only confirm 40 deaths, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates at least 74 died in the bombings. Additionally, the incident injured at least 120 more people.
The Observatory said jihadists detonated a roadside bomb while a bus passed by and conducted a suicide bombing. The bombs detonated near the Bab al-Saghir cemetery, dedicated to Shia mausoleums.
Radical groups continue attacking cities in Syria, despite a Russian-led truce between Syria, Turkey and Iran that enacted in December. Friday’s attack occurred a week before the second round of discussions between the countries.
The group responsible for the latest bombings formed from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and four other smaller groups. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham was responsible for a double suicide bombing in January that killed at least 10 people.
Syria’s uprising against the President
Government officials and jihadists have killed more than 450,000 people since the country rose against President Assad in 2011. Additionally, the crisis displaced more than 11 million people so far. The combination of deaths and displacements makes the Syrian civil war the deadliest conflict in the 21st century.
The uprising stems from 2011’s Arab Spring, a string of anti-government protests and uprisings focused on the lack of Arab freedoms. There were successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, which gave Syrians hope that peaceful demonstrations could work, as well. As Syrians peacefully protested in March that year, government officials detained and tortured 15 boys for writing graffiti that supports Arab Spring. Injuries from extensive torture killed one 13-year-old boy.
After officials attacked the boys, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed and imprisoned hundreds of more people. That July, military rebels created the Free Syrian Army in an attempt to overthrow the government.
This sparked a civil war. Now, territories in Syria are controlled by various groups, including the government, rebel groups, ISIS, and Kurdish forces.
