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Islamic State, regime battle in resource-rich Homs

Two IEDs were detonated in Homs city on Tuesday; one […]


Two IEDs were detonated in Homs city on Tuesday; one in the central Homs of neighborhood of Nizha, while the second exploded in the adjacent district of Akrama. No party claimed responsibility for the bombs.

On the same day, 36km southeast of Homs city, the Islamic State (IS) launched two car bomb attacks against regime air force intelligence and military security installations in Al-Faraqlas, a village wedged between a constellation of regime military bases and training grounds.

IS struck regime-held Faraqlas because of its location as “the eastern gateway to Homs city, on the road to phosphate mines and natural gas-extraction and processing facilities,” Mohammed Al-Homsi, spokesperson for the pro-opposition Aleppo Media Center, tells Mohammed al-Haj Ali.

Q: Can you tell us more about the strategic importance of Al-Faraqlas village?

“Aside from lying on the road to Homs, the capture of Al-Faraqlas would immediately jeopardize a number of immediately adjacent regime military assets–military barracks, security and intelligence stations, officers quarters and weapons stores.”

Q: Where did the explosions occur in Nizha and Akrama?

“The first IED, a small, light design dropped off by a car, went off near Nizha Circle, wrecking some building damage but hurting nobody. The second exploded on Hadara Street, near a café called ‘Al-Arusha.’ Four were injured.

Precisely who set off the two IED attacks in Homs is still unknown.”

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