A day before the Islamic State attacks in Paris, a series of coordinated bombings took place in Beirut, Lebanon.
ISIS is claiming responsibility for the bombings that killed at least 43, and injured as many as 200.
According to Al Jazeera:
“The explosions took place in the Burj el-Barajneh area, located off a main highway leading to Beirut’s airport…The bombings came at a busy time in the evening when the streets were full of families gathering after work.”
ISIS claims the first strike was carried out by explosives attached to a motorcycle, and the second by explosives set inside a vest.
The attacks occurred outside a mosque and a bakery.
In this short video, you can hear one of the explosions:
According to The New York Times, ISIS flatly stated that the target of the attack was Shia Muslims. ISIS is made up of Sunni Muslims, and they believe Shia to be “apostates.”
The bombings were also meant to target Hezbollah because of their involvement in the Syrian war. Hezbollah, a militant Shia Islamist organization, has been on the attack against ISIS in Syria.
The as-of-yet unverified claim of responsibility by the IslamiC State is:
“After the apostates gathered in the area, one of the knights of martyrdom detonated his explosive belt in the midst of them.”
In response to the brutality, Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam issued a statement:
“I pray that this tragedy is enough to wake up politicians so that they can put their differences aside so we can protect the country.”
Friday, prior to the attack in Paris, President Obama said that ISIS was “contained,” and that he didn’t “think they [were] gaining strength.”
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/isil... http://www.ijreview.com/2015/11/471930-whi...
Posted By: Jeni Fa
Monday, November 16th 2015 at 2:43AM
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