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Dr. Boozman's Check-up

For a vast majority of Muslims, the month-long observation of Ramadan is marked by fasting, charity and nightly prayer.

This year, the Islamic State (ISIS) turned it into a month of horror.

Close to 350 people were killed in terror attacks in eight different countries during Ramadan. Most of these attacks have been, at the very least, linked to ISIS.

The Obama Administration contends ISIS is lashing out in desperation as a result of the group losing ground in its self-proclaimed caliphate. Even if lost territory is the reason for the uptick in ISIS attacks abroad, a theory which remains up for debate, the terror group clearly has the means and a plan to carry on with its carnage. You can bet it has a plan to regain any lost territory as well.

ISIS clearly has a strategy. Where is the ours, Mr. President? 

High-profile attacks during Ramadan 

6/12—Omar Mateen—who was inspired by and pledged allegiance to ISIS—opened fire inside an Orlando nightclub killing 49 innocent Americans. 

6/13—A 25-year-old Islamic extremist who pledged allegiance to ISIS brutally murdered a police commander and a civil servant at the home they shared in Magnanville, France. The jihadist, who had been previously convicted and jailed for terror recruiting, posted a 12-minute propaganda video to Facebook live from the scene of the attack.

6/21—ISIS terrorists from Syria drove a suicide car bomb across the border to the Jordanian side and detonated it at an army post killing seven soldiers. Jordan is a key ally in the region and in the fight against ISIS.

6/28—One of the world’s busiest airports, Istanbul’s international airport, was stormed by three jihadists armed with assault rifles and explosive belts. They killed 44 people and wounded nearly 150 in an attack that appears to have been directed by ISIS leadership responsible for recruiting and training Russian-speaking jihadists.

7/1—Jihadists armed with knives, automatic rifles and bombs stormed a popular restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in the capital of Bangladesh, taking 35 hostages before torturing and killing those who could not recite the Quran. By the end of the attack, terrorists killed twenty hostages—mostly foreigners—including three U.S. college students.

7/2—A truck packed with explosives detonated by a busy shopping center in one of Baghdad’s more upscale, relatively safe neighborhoods. The center was packed with shoppers buying goods for the upcoming Eid feast, which marks the breaking of Ramadan fast. The bombing, claimed by ISIS, killed over 250 people and wounded another 150. It was one of the deadliest single attacks to hit Iraq during the past 13 years of war and insurgency.

7/4—Three cities across Saudi Arabia were hit by suicide bombers, including one attack at the mosque where the Prophet Muhammad is said to be buried in the holy city of Medina. The mosque is an important stop for millions of pilgrims each year. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, which killed four civilians, but ISIS has attacked the kingdom before and analysts believe that the bombings could be the work of ISIS or its sympathizers