An enigmatic militant group, calling itself the Popular Resistance of Raqqa, allegedly carried out an attack on the hotel, where representatives of the US-led anti-terror international coalition gathered for a security meeting.
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According to the Telegram channel monitoring terrorist activity, Directorate 4, the explosive was activated at the Crown International Hotel, located near the stadium in central Raqqa. A conflicting report from a local journalist suggests that the militants targeted the Tajj hotel in the provincial capital of the Al-Raqqa Governorate.
The Popular Resistance in Raqqa is targeting a security meeting of the coalition forces with its militias in the Taj Hotel with an explosive device inside Raqqa city pic.twitter.com/fSaOKNGlK6
— Sohayb Masri (@Sohayb_Masri1) 14 июля 2018 г.
There were no immediate reports of casualties; the US-led coalition hasn’t commented on the purported incident so far.
Raqqa, the self-declared capital of Daesh*, was liberated in October 2017 when the SDF backed by the US-led coalition retook the city from terrorists. Almost a year later, the city still remains in ruins, with thousands of dead bodies buried under the wreckage.
Since 2014, the US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Daesh targets in Syria without a UN mandate or authorization from the legitimate government, which Damascus views as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
*Daesh, also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS, is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
