Twin explosions Saturday near religious shrines frequented by Shiite pilgrims in the Syrian capital Damascus killed dozens of people, Arab media and activists report. Islamic State militants have carried out similar attacks before against Shiite shrines in the Syrian capital and elsewhere. Takfiri is an Arabic derogatory term referring to extremist Sunni Muslims — such as members of the Islamic State group — who accuse other Muslims of being infidels. Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV quoted Syrian officials saying twin suicide attacks killed 40. Also Saturday, Syria’s President Bashar Assad said in an interview that his military’s priority is to reach the Islamic State group’s de-facto capital of Raqqa — toward which U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces are also advancing.

Source: Washington Post March 11, 2017 10:54 UTC