1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
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On Sept. 12, 2006, four gunmen attacked the American Embassy in Damascus, Syria, storming the compound with grenades and automatic weapons before being repelled by Syrian security forces. Three of the gunmen were killed and a fourth was wounded, while one Syrian security official was killed and about a dozen people were wounded, including three Syrian security officials and a Syrian guard employed by the embassy. No American personnel were injured and the attackers failed to detonate a vehicle packed with explosives. The New York Times reported the attack was at the time a rare instance of terrorist violence in the tightly controlled Syrian capital, and was the first time the American Embassy had been a target. The attack also came after the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and recently made threats by Al Qaeda. US support for Israel during the war in Lebanon had generated anger in the region, the Time reported.
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