ISIS kills 120, wounds 140 with holiday bomb. People used vegetable boxes to collect children’s body parts. Ramadan is an important Islamic holiday & lasts for 1 month. Muslims don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset that month. Ramadan marks the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. A huge festival called Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan. …
President Obama sends 450 more troops to Iraq. Source article on CNN.com 3,050 US troops are in Iraq advising & training Iraqi troops. 450 more troops will go train Sunni tribe soldiers to fight ISIS. Sunni Muslims used to thrive under Saddam Hussein. They have been marginalized since his overthrow. Which is why some Sunnis view ISIS (also Sunni) as …
Houthi rebels cling to port city despite 2 weeks of bombs. For more context, click here see our previous story about Houthi rebels. Houthi rebels in Yemen have destabilized its government. They now control almost the entire Western portion of Yemen. After 2 weeks of airstrikes, Saudi Arabia (SA) has gained little. SA may launch a ground offensive in the …
As Yemen nears civil war, Saudi Arabia gets involved. For more context, click here see our previous story about Houthi rebels. The story on CNN.com Houthis are a minority Shiite Muslim group in Yemen. They have been protesting against their gov’t since 2014. The protesting has turned violent and is close to civil war. Saudi Arabia (SA), bordering Yemen, …
Rebels seize presidential palace, kidnap official Yemen is a critical US/Western ally in the Middle East. The Houthis are a Shia minority with ties to Hezbollah and Iran. AQAP is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Houthi rebels are fighting for more representation in gov’t. They took over the capital and kidnapped the Chief of Staff. Officials are negotiating with …