Damage from one of the ISIS suicide bombings in Sweida, southern Syria, July 25, 2018. More than 200 people - civilians and combatants - were killed in the co-ordinated attacks in the city and towns to the north and east. EPA / Sana
Damage from one of the ISIS suicide bombings in Sweida, southern Syria, July 25, 2018. More than 200 people - civilians and combatants - were killed in the co-ordinated attacks in the city and towns to the north and east. EPA / Sana
Damage from one of the ISIS suicide bombings in Sweida, southern Syria, July 25, 2018. More than 200 people - civilians and combatants - were killed in the co-ordinated attacks in the city and towns to the north and east. EPA / Sana
Damage from one of the ISIS suicide bombings in Sweida, southern Syria, July 25, 2018. More than 200 people - civilians and combatants - were killed in the co-ordinated attacks in the city and towns t

Ferocious ISIS offensive leaves more than 200 dead in southern Syrian towns


  • English
  • Arabic

Islamic State fighters hit a city and several villages in southern Syria on Wednesday, triggering ferocious clashes between residents and the militants that provincial health officials said killed more than 200 people.

The co-ordinated attacks across the province of Sweida, which included several suicide bombings, shattered the calm of a region that has been largely insulated from the worst of the violence of Syria's seven-year-long civil war.

The suicide bomb blasts inside the provincial capital, also called Sweida, were apparently timed to coincide with attacks on villages in the eastern countryside, creating mayhem across the province.

The attacks triggered deadly clashes between the ISIS militants and pro-government fighters supported by residents who picked up weapons to defend their hometowns.

By nightfall, the province's health directorate had recorded 204 civilians killed and 180 wounded, according to local official Hassan Omar. This made it the single bloodiest day for the province since the 2011 national revolt that sparked the ongoing civil war.

______________

Read More: 

More than 180 dead as ISIS hit south Syria's Sweida 

Syria state media says Israel bombs military post in Aleppo

Syrian regime hoist flag over Deraa, cradle of 2011 revolt

______________

Sultan Bou Ammar, a resident of the village of Shbiki, said some residents unwittingly opened their doors when militants knocked early Thursday morning, so unexpected was the attack.

"They kidnapped more than 40 people, all of them women or children," said Bou Ammar.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 183 people were killed, including 94 residents who were part of local defence militias that have the backing of the Syrian government. At least 45 ISIS militants were killed in the fighting.

Al-Ikhbariya state-run TV showed images from several locations in the province and its capital where the bombers blew themselves up.

The rare attacks in Sweida, populated mainly by Syria's minority Druze, came amid a government offensive elsewhere in the country's south. Government forces are battling the ISIS-linked group near the frontier with Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and near the border with Jordan. The group also has a small presence on the eastern edge of Sweida province.

Since their offensive in June, Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces have retaken territories controlled by the rebels along the Golan Heights frontier and are now fighting militants in the country's southern tip.

ISIS has been largely defeated in Syria and Iraq, but still has pockets of territory it controls in eastern and southern Syria.

The extremist group boasted that its "soldiers" killed more than 100 people in Sweida. In a statement posted on the group's social media channels, it said its militants carried out surprise attacks on government and security centres, sparking clashes with Syrian troops and allied militias.

The death toll in Sweida, initially reported at 27, quickly climbed. The Observatory also reported a series of suicide blasts and the clashes in the province's countryside. It said the dead included civilians, pro-government fighters and ISIS militants.

An activist-operated media platform on Facebook, Sweida News Network said a local militia was fighting the advancing ISIS-affiliated group and that at least 30 militiamen were killed in the clashes with the militants.

Al-Ikhbariya said one of the suicide bombers hit a vegetable market in the city of Sweida just after 5 a.m., a busy time for the merchants at the start of their day.

The bomber drove through the market on a motorcycle and there detonated his explosives, the TV station said. A second attacker hit in another busy square in the city. Two other attackers blew themselves up as they were chased by security forces, the TV said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns the terrorist attacks" and "is appalled by the utter disregard for human life" displayed by IS, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. "Those responsible for the attacks must be held accountable."

The city of Sweida has largely been spared most of the violence that Syrian cities have witnessed in the years since the conflict started in 2011. The provinces' religious and civil leaders have preached coexistence with Damascus, even as cities elsewhere in the country heaved with protests.

But the largely rural province has suffered from emigration as weak employment prospects and conscription pressures to serve in the national army have pushed men out.

Bou Ammar, from Shbiki, said there weren't many men left to defend the village when the militants attacked.

"We got reinforcements from [security] forces near and far, God grant them peace," he said.

For the southern offensive, government forces redeployed troops from Sweida province last month to attack rebels and ISIS-affiliate militants in the nearby provinces of Daraa and Quneitra.

The government is now in control of Daraa but continues to battle the IS-affiliate militants in Quneitra.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S

Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900

Engine: 937cc

Transmission: Six-speed gearbox

Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm

Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Eyasses squad

Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)

Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)  

Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)

Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)

Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)

Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)

Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)

Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)

Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)         

Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)

WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Looming%20global%20slowdown%20and%20recession%20in%20key%20economies%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Russia-Ukraine%20war%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Interest%20rate%20hikes%20and%20the%20rising%20cost%20of%20debt%20servicing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Oil%20price%20volatility%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Persisting%20inflationary%20pressures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Exchange%20rate%20fluctuations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shortage%20of%20labour%2Fskills%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20A%20resurgence%20of%20Covid%3F%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope 
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph 
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets