Sunday

December 13, 2015

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan

At least 25 people are killed and dozens injured in a bombing at a second-hand clothes market in the city of Parachinar in the Kurram Valley. (Pakistan Tribune) (The News)

Syrian Civil War

Syrian rebels fire volleys of mortar shells into Damascus, killing three people and wounding at least 30. Government forces respond with airstrikes into rebel-controlled Douma, just northeast of the capital, and surface-to-surface missiles into Eastern Ghouta and Saqba, that kill at least 35 people and injure many more, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AP via The Washington Post) (Reuters)

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Israel says an Arab-Israeli man who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has joined Islamic State militants in Syria. (Reuters)

2015 Burundian unrest

The U.S. State Department issues a travel advisory for Burundi and advises its citizens there to leave as soon as possible due to the increased violence in the capital Bujumbura where 87 people were killed this weekend. Families of U.S. government personnel and non-emergency personnel have been ordered to leave immediately. (UPI) (US State)

Gaza–Israel conflict

Israeli Air Force planes hit two Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation for rocket fire from the Palestinian territory. (Ynet News) (The Times of Isarel)

Arts and culture

Louisa Johnson wins The X Factor after beating Ghanaian duo Reggie N Bollie, becoming the show's youngest ever winner at the age of 17. her cover of Bob Dylan's 1974 track "Forever Young" released after she won.(Daily Mail)