IS in the Middle East

In Iraq, soldiers of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) took the Iraqi city of Ramadi on May 20. The Iraqi army, with the cooperation of the Popular Mobilisation, a Shia militia group, counterattacked IS, taking back some neighboring towns and cutting off some supply routes. Air strikes from the United Kingdom and the US also targeted IS forces in the area.

West of Baghdad, Ramadi is on the Euphrates. Fallujah, held by IS since January 2014, lies between the two cities.

On May 22 in the central region of Syria, IS took the city of Tadmur and the adjacent, ancient Roman city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Progovernment Syrian forces had held the sites. Palmyra is strategically located and gives IS control over most of central Syria. 

Many of the antiquities held in Palmyra were moved before it fell to IS. IS has destroyed Mesopotamian city ruins, such as Nimrud in Iraq, and sold artifacts to help fund its activities.

On May 22, IS took control of the al-Tanf crossing, the last border station between Syria and Iraq held by Syrian forces. However, that same day, Kurdish forces took the northern al-Ya’robiyyi crossing between Syria and Iraq from IS.

In Saudi Arabia on May 22, a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque, killing at least 20 people and injuring 70 more. IS claimed responsibility. IS does not control any land in Saudi Arabia.