There's been no shortage of material coming out of Douma over the last few weeks, as more government shellings rain down on the Damascus suburb. In the latest, footage uploaded this week shows what civil defense workers purport to be a standard air tactic by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad called "double tapping."
So what is it? Well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
Mentioned by journalists, aid workers and civilians in reports spanning the Middle East's conflicts, 'double tapping' refers to when war planes strike the same site two consecutive times. This way, rescue workers and passersby are killed while trying to aid the victims of the first strike. And it's not just in Syria — the term's popped up during US drone strikes in Pakistan and in multiple Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip.
Uploaded to Facebook by Douma's Syrian Civil Defense wing, the 90-second video shows rescue workers rushing to the scene of an airstrike in the city, gray rubble surrouning them. Seconds later, a loud boom is followed by a cloud of smoke as the second strike rings out.
This is not the first time Assad's forces have been accused of the tactic, but given how much we've seen Douma devastation lately, the footage certainly makes it harder to ignore.
See th video below. Via YouTube.
Here is a longer video of the Douma strikes today: https://t.co/niTjDVDE7P from @m_mondass
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) September 1, 2015
