At least three suicide bombing attacks by suspected 'Islamic State' militants have left dozens dead in southern Syria. The bombings come after the Assad regime recently ousted rebels from most of the south.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/SANA
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More than 100 Syrian regime members, allies and civilians were killed Wednesday following a series of attacks in southwestern Syria, a war monitor said, with at least 38 killed by suicide bombings in the pro-regime city of Sweida.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said three bombers with suicide belts, who were believed to be members of the "Islamic State" (IS), targeted a number of areas inside the city.
More than 100 people are dead after suicing bombings and other attacks and many more are wounded.
One suicide bomb went off in a market area.
Two other attackers were chased by security before blowing themselves up.
State media also reported more casualties in the fighting in several villages to the northeast of Sweida.
IS claimed responsiblity for the attacks.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
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War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
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The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
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The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
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IS changing tactics: IS has lost swathes of territory in Syria due to offensives carried out by Russian-backed government forces. In Sweida, where the most recent suicide bomb attacks happened, the Syrian government holds all of the city except for one IS-occupied pocket in the northeast. The change has seen IS militants opt for isolated terrorist attacks, such as suicide bombings, in an attempt to avoid larger battlefield conflicts.
Regime offensive in the south: The attacks come as a Syrian government offensive is being carried out west of Sweida, where troops are fighting an IS-affiliated group near the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights area and other areas in the south. On Saturday Syrian forces closed in on the southwestern area of rebel-held Quneitra province after Russian forces negotiated a deal with rebels that saw hundreds of militants and their families evacuated from the area.
International aid: The suicide bombings occurred days after aid provided by France and Russia arrived in the country in the first joint humanitarian aid operation between Russia and a Western country. The operation was agreed upon by Putin and Macron during talks in Saint Petersburg in May. It included medicine, medical equipment, clothes and tents, and was to be given to residents of eastern Ghouta on the edge of the capital, Damascus.
