Iraqi forces attempt to extinguish the flames after Islamic State (IS) group jihadists torched Mishraq sulphur factory, near the Qayyarah base, about 30 kilometres south of Mosul, during an operation to retake the main hub city from IS on October 22, 2016. Toxic fumes released when jihadists torched a sulphur plant near Mosul have killed two Iraqi civilians, made many ill and forced US troops at a nearby base to wear masks.
Palestinian militants launched a barrage of balloons carrying incendiary devices that set alight crop fields and grasslands in southern Israel on May 22. Just one of the devices destroyed 12 acres of wheat in Kibbutz Alumim, about 2 miles southeast of the Gaza Strip. The attack followed reports that Hamas and the Israeli government had reached a six-month cease-fire agreement, in which Hamas had pledged to halt airborne arson attacks using kites and balloons. On May 12, arson heavily damaged the Diyanet Mosque in New Haven, Connecticut, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In another recent attack on a house of worship, two attempts were made May 18 to set fire to the Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel synagogue in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. The remains of several Molotov cocktails were found outside the building. Motives for these arsons have yet to be determined.
