World roundup: February 16 2022

Stories from Saudi Arabia, Mali, Ukraine, and more

INTERNATIONAL

In today’s global news:

• Worldometer is tracking COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

• The New York Times is tracking global vaccine distribution.

MIDDLE EAST

SYRIA

This is a developing story but it looks like the Israeli military has conducted another missile attack on Syria, firing surface-to-surface missiles from positions in the Golan against areas south of Damascus. There’s no word on any casualties at this point but we may have more detail tomorrow.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian military shelled a diesel fuel storage facility in Idlib province on Wednesday, killing at least three people. The depot is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and while we’re on that subject you may be interested in a new piece by Al-Monitor’s Khaled al-Khateb on the repercussions of the US raid earlier this month that resulted in the death of now-former Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Apparently that incident has raised suspicions among smaller jihadist groups in northwestern Syria that HTS is feeding information to the United States. HTS leadership is denying any foreknowledge of the US operation but it is at least difficult to believe they didn’t know where Qurayshi was, as they’ve been claiming.

Further north, the “Syrian Civil Defense” organization says at least three people were killed and another seven wounded by rocket fire in the Turkish-controlled city of Azaz on Tuesday. Given the location it’s likely the Syrian Democratic Forces militia was responsible though the Syrian military can’t be ruled out.