The years-long conflict in Syria between the government and rebel forces took the international stage this week after President Bashar Al-Assad's regime reportedly used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack near Damascus, killing at least 1,429 people, according to Secretary of State John Kerry in a press conference Friday. Now the U.S. government is contemplating a military strike on Syria.
The map above, assembled by Mashable, plots the major battles of the Syrian war. It also highlights the rebel- and government-controlled areas (with populations of 100,000 or greater) and the major military landmarks.
If the U.S. does issue a missile strike on Syria, it will likely come from U.S. Navy destroyers located off Syria's Mediterranean coast, and potential targets include Syrian military command centers and air force bases, according to The Washington Post.
Not included on this map are areas in northeast Syria, where fighting recently broke out between Kurdish forces and radical Islamists. (Although it is worth noting that neither group supports Assad.)
We will continue to update this map as more information becomes available.
Additional reporting by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai. Image: Google.