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BEIRUT. — A series of attacks, most linked to the Islamic State group (ISIS), has killed nearly 350 people in eight countries during the holy month of Ramadan.

The attacks are widely seen as an attempt to distract from a string of battlefield losses suffered by the extremist group in Syria and Iraq, where the borders of its self-styled caliphate are shrinking.

ORLANDO

On June 12, A gunman opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing at least 49 people in the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Police say the slain shooter had pledged allegiance to ISIS, which hailed him as a “soldier of the caliphate”, but there is no evidence he was in contact with the group prior to the attack.

JORDAN

On June 21, a suicide car bomb struck a Jordanian army post along the Syrian border, killing seven soldiers in the deadliest attack in the kingdom in years. ISIS claimed the attack.

YEMEN

On June 27, an ISIS affiliate carried out a series of attacks in Yemen’s southern port city of Mukalla, killing 43 people, mostly intelligence and security troops. In one attack, a bomb was concealed in a box of food delivered to soldiers to break their dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast.

LEBANON

On June 27, eight suicide bombers struck in two waves in a small Christian Lebanese village on the border with Syria, killing five people. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

TURKEY

On June 28, three suicide bombers armed with assault rifles stormed Istanbul’s international airport, one of the world’s busiest, killing 44 people and wounding nearly 150. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Turkish officials say they believe it was carried out by ISIS.

MALAYSIA

On June 28, a grenade was lobbed at a bar outside Kuala Lumpur as patrons watched Euro soccer matches, wounding eight people. Authorities said it was the first ISIS attack in the Muslim-majority country, and that the attackers received orders from a Malaysian man fighting alongside the group in Syria.

BANGLADESH

On July 1, men armed with knives, automatic rifles and bombs battled police before storming a popular restaurant in an upscale Dhaka neighbourhood, taking 35 hostages for hours before killing 20 of them, including nine Italians and seven Japanese. Witnesses said the attackers let Muslims go but tortured hostages who could not recite the Qur’an. ISIS claimed the attack.

IRAQ

On July 3, a suicide truck bombing in a bustling Baghdad shopping district killed at least 175 people in one of the deadliest attacks in 13 years of war and insurgency. ISIS claimed the attack, saying it was targeting Shi’ites.

SAUDI ARABIA

On July 4, suicide bombers struck in three Saudi cities, including outside the mosque where the Prophet Muhammad is buried, one of the holiest sites in Islam, killing four security personnel. A Pakistani resident struck outside the US Consulate in Jiddah, lightly wounding two security guards, and a third bomber struck near a Shiite mosque in the country’s east. No one claimed the attacks.

INDONESIA

On July 5, a suicide bomber struck outside a police station in Solo, Java, wounding one policeman. Police say the attacker was linked to a leading figure among Indonesians fighting with ISIS in Syria. — AP.