BAGHDAD: Daesh militants killed 12 members of the same family, including women and children, in an attack on their northern village home Saturday, an Iraqi official said.
Ammar Hekmat, the deputy governor of the Salahuddin province, confirmed the attack early in the village of Al-Farahatiyah. It was not immediately clear why the family was targeted.
Iraqi forces have driven Daesh from virtually all the territory it once controlled, but the group has continued carrying out sporadic attacks, mainly targeting security forces.
“We’re not sure if one of the family members was a police officer, but Daesh has a presence in desert areas like Salahuddin, Mosul and Diyala,” an Iraqi intelligence official said. “They carry out attacks in villages outside the cities to scare families and remind them they are still there.”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
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Iraqi official: Daesh kills family of 12
Iraqi official: Daesh kills family of 12
- 12 members of the same family, including women and children, were killed in an attack on their northern village home Saturday.
- Iraqi forces have driven Daesh from virtually all the territory it once controlled, but the group has continued carrying out sporadic attacks.
Syria imposes night curfew on port city after sectarian violence
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the port city of Latakia on Tuesday after attacks in predominantly Alawite neighborhoods a day prior.
The interior ministry announced a “curfew in Latakia city, effective from 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, until 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.”
Individuals attacked Alawite-majority neighborhoods on Monday, damaging cars and vandalising shops.
The attacks came a day after three people were killed during mass protests by the minority community that followed a bombing in Homs.
One of them was a member of Syria’s security forces, according to a security source.
Syrian authorities said on Monday forces “reinforced their deployment in a number of neighborhoods in the city of Latakia, as part of measures taken to monitor the situation on the ground, enhance security and stability, and ensure the safety of citizens and property.”
Latakia, a mixed city in Syria’s Alawite coastal heartland, also has several Sunni-majority neighborhoods.
Since Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad, himself an Alawite, was ousted in December 2024, the minority group has been the target of attacks.
Hundreds of Alawites were killed in sectarian massacres in the community’s coastal heartland in March.
Despite assurances from Damascus that all of Syria’s communities will be protected, the country’s minorities remain wary of their future under the new authorities.
The interior ministry announced a “curfew in Latakia city, effective from 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, until 6:00 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.”
Individuals attacked Alawite-majority neighborhoods on Monday, damaging cars and vandalising shops.
The attacks came a day after three people were killed during mass protests by the minority community that followed a bombing in Homs.
One of them was a member of Syria’s security forces, according to a security source.
Syrian authorities said on Monday forces “reinforced their deployment in a number of neighborhoods in the city of Latakia, as part of measures taken to monitor the situation on the ground, enhance security and stability, and ensure the safety of citizens and property.”
Latakia, a mixed city in Syria’s Alawite coastal heartland, also has several Sunni-majority neighborhoods.
Since Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad, himself an Alawite, was ousted in December 2024, the minority group has been the target of attacks.
Hundreds of Alawites were killed in sectarian massacres in the community’s coastal heartland in March.
Despite assurances from Damascus that all of Syria’s communities will be protected, the country’s minorities remain wary of their future under the new authorities.
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