February 6th to 12th, 2016
Pakistan
In Punjab, terrorists have recently threatened to poison the water tanks of the schools in the area, leading to the school administration and Punjab government to place the school water supply under strict surveillance. Efforts to thwart terrorist plans to poison the water include a rotating night watch as well as constant 24/7 guarding of the water supply. The Punjab area of Pakistan is home to a good percentage of Shia Muslims, which explains why anti-Shia terrorist groups are targeting that specific area.
On February 8th, Pakistan had also seen the death of an important Shia individual, Malik Iftikhar Ali Haideri. As the superintendent of the Government College of Technology, he takes public transportation each morning and was waiting at a pick-up location when the attack occurred. He was shot by several unidentified men riding motorcycles near the Kohati Gate resulting in fatal injuries. His family seems to have a huge target on their back as his brother, Jarrar Ali Haideri, who is an employee of the Directorate of Afghan Refugees, was killed in a similar way ten days previously while bringing his children to school. Another incident also occurred on February 8th in which an explosive bomb was set in a repair shop in the Zandi Akbar Khan area of Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of the two Shia store owners.
Syria
This week, Syria was the sight of three Shia Muslim deaths including two women and one six year old child. These deaths were the direct result of bombings to two Shia populated cities; Nubl and Al-Zahraa which had previously been under siege for the past three years by ISIS resulting in malnutrition, lack of education, medical aid, and many other resources. Although ISIS has recently stopped occupation of these cities, a huge anti-Shia stronghold remains, making these places extremely dangerous for their large Shia populations.
