evidence: Ras Baalbek, a town located near the Syrian border in Northeast Lebanon, has a population of around 15,000, 1,500 of whom are Syrian refugees. The area has witnessed ongoing clashes with militants operating in the mountains around the town since the spring of 2014. However, it is unknown exactly how long the militants have been active in the area for. In August 2015, the President of Ras Baalbek’s Municipal Council, Hisham al-Arja, stated that 150 square kilometres of the village’s territory had been occupied for over two years. Importantly, Ras Baalbek is close to Arsal and el-Qaa, both of which have also seen fighting between militants and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) since 2014. [...] Two waves of suicide bombings occurred in the city of el-Qaa on 27th June, 2016, starting at 4am and continuing until 11pm. Each wave involved 4 suicide bombers connected to IS, and in total 9 people were killed whilst 32 were injured (see our infographic here).