CONGRESSMAN LIEU STATEMENT ON RECENT TERROR ATTACKS IN MIDDLE EAST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Lieu (D I Los Angeles County) issued the following statement regarding the recent wave of ISIS-coordinated bombings throughout the Middle East. On June 28, three suicide bombers killed 45 people and wounded hundreds in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. On July 2, six attackers took hostages in a bakery and slaughtered 20 people, including American student Faraaz Hossain. On July 3, a suicide truck bombing in a busy Baghdad shopping district killed at least 215 people and wounded around 175, while in Saudi Arabia over a dozen were killed in several bombings.

“I condemn the recent wave of terrorist attacks that has hit the Middle East in the strongest possible terms. It is unfathomable that hundreds of innocent men, women and children have been murdered by terrorists in the span of a week.

There is perhaps no greater reminder that ISIS does not represent Islam than the fact that these attacks happened in Muslim countries during the holy month of Ramadan. As ISIS continues to lose territory, it is desperately lashing out to distract and instill fear into any enemy it can reach. We must continue to work vigilantly to protect our homeland from the threat of terrorism and stay focused on the ultimate goal of eradicating this radical cancer.”