SYRIA

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Context: US-led coalition forces say they captured a senior leader of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in an overnight raid in northern Syria.

About:

• Syria is a West Asian country having Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel as its bordering countries. It also has a coastline with the Mediterranean Sea on its west.
• Syria is also home to diverse ethnic groups and religious denominations such as the Syrian Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians, Greeks and Mandaeans, with Arabs being the largest ethnic group
• Syria’s religious groups include Sunnis, Alawis, Shiites, Christians, Jews, Mandaeans, Druze, Salafis, Ismailis and Yazidis. The largest religious group is Sunni Muslim.
• Syria historically refers to a region encompassing the Levantine regions of the ancient world. The modern state of Syria includes regions of many ancient kingdoms and civilisations.
• Its capital city of Damascus and another city Aleppo feature in the list of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities
• In Arabic, Syria is also known as ‘Al Sham’.

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