22 dead in Turkey wedding suicide bomb
At least 50 people are killed and dozens more wounded latein an attack possibly carried out by a suicide bomber on a wedding party in the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border. A senior security official says the device used was the same type as those employed in the July 2015 suicide attack in the border town of Suruc and the October 2015 suicide bombing of a rally of pro-Kurdish activists in Ankara. Reports say the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber aged between 12 and 14. Turkey’s foreign minister:
Daesh should be completely cleansed from our borders and we are ready to do what it takes for that.
Market bombings
ISIS say they were behind two suicide bombs in Baghdad that killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 60. Among the dead were police and civilians. The suicide bombers hit police checkpoints in market places during morning rush-hour. The bombers were said to have been on foot and wearing explosives vests. Four people are killed in a third blast in a nearby district, but it is unclear who was behind it.
Destroys Palmyra temple
ISIS destroys Baal Shamin temple, a Roman-era historic site in the Syrian city of Palmyra. According to reports the temple was destroyed a month previously. UNESCO calls the act a war crime:
The systematic destruction of cultural symbols embodying Syrian cultural diversity reveals the true intent of such attacks, which is to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history…Daesh is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world. Despite the obstacles and fanaticism, human creativity will prevail, buildings and sites will be rehabilitated, and some will be rebuilt. Such acts are war crimes and their perpetrators must be accountable for their actions. UNESCO stands by all Syrian people in their efforts to safeguard their heritage, a heritage for all humanity
Syria’s director of Antiquities:
It stood as it was for more than 1,800 years… It was a beautiful tourist attraction…They destroyed an incredibly important architectural structure. It is the first structure in the Palmyra complex to be destroyed, although they recently destroyed two Islamic shrines nearby. They said they would destroy the statues but not the structures themselves inside Palmyra. They lied.
300 election officials killed by firing squad
An anti-ISIS group says 300 people from Iraq’s Electoral Commission, including 50 women, have been killed by an ISIS firing squad at the Galzani army camp for being ‘apostates and infidels’.
Iraq bombings
Jihadists kill 33 people in two suicide bombings in Iraq, including 20 at a central market area in Huwaydir. Islamic State claims responsibility.
Plot to assassinate Queen
British security forces says Islamic extremists from ISIS are planning to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, using a ‘deadly pressure cooker bomb’ set to detonate near The Queen as she attends events in central London to commemorate the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, the Allied victory over Japan in World War II. The report comes before the threat has been neutralized, and that security forces are in a race against time to thwart the assassination plot. Security has reportedly been bolstered around the queen and Cameron ahead of the event.
Executes gay men
Islamic State militants execute two men accused of being gay by throwing them from the roof of a tall building in Palmyra and then stoning them. ISIS has been using its fighters in honey traps to expose gay men and then kill them.
20 dead in suicide bombimng
Over twenty people die in twin suicide attacks by two 15-year-old girls in Maruoa, in northern Cameroon. One girl attacks a busy marketplace and the other targets a neighborhood area.
We are still searching if there are more bodies because many people were in the market and some are still in their shops, said police officer Eric Bambue, describing the scene as the worst thing he had ever seen.
Suspected ISIS suicide bomber kills 30
A suspected Islamic State suicide bomber kills at least 30 people, mostly young students, in an attack on a Turkish town near the Syrian border. Witness:
I was behind a banner so I couldn’t see the attacker, but we understand it was a suicide attack. I was thrown to the ground…I jumped up and began running before I even realised I was hurt.
Car bomb kills 120
A car bomb kills 120 people and injures hundreds of citizens at a busy market in Khan Bani Saad, north of the capital Baghdad. The Islamic State says one of its members drove three tonnes of explosives into a crowd. Police:
Some people were using vegetable boxes to collect children’s body parts.
Claims Iraq bombing responsibility
ISIS claims responsibility for an attack targeting a gathering of Shiite militias in Khan Bani Saad, which is in Diyala province, about thirty five kilometers north of Baghdad. Most of the residents are Shiites. Videos posted on social media show a large swath of fire at the scene, with bodies and debris over a wide area. Several multistory buildings appeared to have been heavily damaged by the blast.
Boy beheads soldier
An Islamic State video shows a boy who seems to be no older than ten beheading of a Syrian Officer in the ancient city of Palmyra. This is the first time the Islamic State has publicly filmed one of its young recruits beheading a captive.
France beheading, explosion
One person is beheaded and at least 12 injured in an explosion in what officials say was a terrorist attack at a gas factory in a small town in southeastern France. An Islamic State flag is found at the site of the attack. President Hollande:
The terrorist nature of this act are without doubt. There is no doubt that the intention was to provoke an attack, an explosion.
Takes responsibility for attack
The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack at the Beach Resort in Tunisia. According to their statement, the attack is a response to Islamic State leaders encouraging their followers to increase assaults during Ramadan.
Let them wait for the glad tidings of what will harm them in the coming days, Allah permitting
Destroys museum artifacts
ISIS releases a video that shows militants destroying ancient artifacts in a museum in the city of Mosul in Iraq. Some of the artifacts are over 2,000 years old. U.N. spokesman:
The destruction of cultural heritage is reprehensible and criminal.
US ISIS attack warning
TSA issues warning that ISIS attack on US soil is imminent while FBI investigates the possibility. VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) teams are deploying to various undisclosed locations. ISIS frequently threatens to attack the US, this is the first time the US is responding as if it is a credible threat. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security declines to comment on specifics but states:
Over the last few months, we have made a number of security adjustments, including enhanced screening at select overseas airports and increasing random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage on flights inbound to the U.S., reflecting an evolving threat picture.
More beach beheadings
A 29-minute video showing the killing of two groups Ethiopian Christians captives by Islamic State-affiliated militants in Libya is released. A masked fighter wielding a pistol says Christians must convert to Islam or pay a special tax prescribed by the Quran, before the captives in the south are shown being shot dead and the captives in the east are beheaded on a beach.
‘Bestiality’ stoning
Images released by the group show a man accused of ‘having sex with animals’ and ‘having a homosexual affair’ being stoned. Forced to wear a scarf over his eyes, the man’s hands are bound behind his back as he stands next to a freshly-prepared grave. A dozen ISIS fighters throw large rocks at the victim while the all-male crowd watch on. Graphic close-up shots of the man’s broken body show his injuries. The group also publishes images of a prisoner of war, who had been caught fighting and spying on behalf of the Assad regime, being beheaded in the Syrian desert.
Destroys Mar Benham monastery
ISIS destroys fourth Century Mar Benham monastery in Iraq using explosives. Dr Nicholas al-Jeloo, University of Melbourne:
IS is destroying the rich cultural fabric of the area, the multilayered, multilingual, multi-ethnic aspects of society. It’s not just our heritage, it’s the heritage of the world. It is part of our history, and now it’s gone.
Claims role
ISIS claims responsibility of Yemen mosque bombings. Bruce Riedel, director of the Intelligence Project at the Institute:
ISIS’s claim is not credible. The attacks in Sanaa are more likely AQAP, which has both capability and intent. But ISIS may find a following in Yemen given the chaos and sectarian violence.