Islamic State

Islamic State-backed rebels kill nearly 52 people in eastern Congo, says UN

Attacks by an Islamic State-backed rebels killed at least 52 people between Aug. 9 and 16, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo said Monday. The UN mission, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement that the attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) took place in several localities of Beni and Lubero territories, in the North Kivu province. The violence was accompanied by abductions, looting, the burning of homes, vehicles, and motorcycles, as well as the destruction of property belonging to populations already facing dire humanitarian conditions, the statement read, adding that the death toll is likely to rise. Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates along the border with Uganda and often targets civilians. The group killed nearly 40 people in the Ituri province last month, when it stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire

IS, al-Qaeda threat intense in Africa, with growing risks in Syria: UN

The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as a strategic base for external operations, UN experts said in a new report. Their report to the UN Security Council circulated Wednesday said West Africa's al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin group, known as JNIM, and East Africa's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab have continued to increase the territory under their control. The experts monitoring sanctions against the two groups said the organisation's pivot towards parts of Africa continued" partly because of Islamic State losses in the Middle East due to counterterrorism pressures. There are also increasing concerns about foreign terrorist fighters returning to Central Asia and Afghanistan, aiming to undermine regional security, they said. The Islamic State also continues to represent the most significant threat to Europe and the Americas, the experts said

Islamic State-linked rebels kill 66 civilians in eastern Congo attack

Rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group killed 66 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said Saturday. Fighters with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has ties to IS, killed civilians in the area of Irumu in the east of the country bordering Uganda. The attack comes as eastern Congo may see an end to its ongoing war with M23, a separate rebel group which is backed by Rwanda, another of Congo's neighbors. Jean Tobie Okala, the spokesperson for the United Nations mission in Ituri in eastern Congo, called the attack a bloodbath." Around 30 civilians were killed between Thursday and Friday, July 11, in the Walese Vonkutu chiefdom, Irumu territory, in Ituri, said Okala in a statement to the Associated Press. "Based on information from civil society, the death toll has risen from 31 to 66 civilians killed. The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist group that operates on both sides of the porous border. All the victims, including women, were killed with mache

​MEA confirms abduction of three Indians in Mali amid terror attacks

Three Indian nationals were abducted from a cement factory in Mali's Kayes region on July 1. The MEA is in contact with Malian authorities and urges swift action for their safe and early release

Islamic State group was behind deadly attack on Damascus church, says Syria

The sleeper cell behind a deadly church bombing near Damascus belonged to the Islamic State group, which had plans to target a Shiite shrine in a similar attack, Syria's Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Sunday's attack on the Mar Elias church killed at least 25 people. The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of the country's minorities. Noureddine Al-Baba told journalists a second attacker was caught Monday on his way to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus, where many sites of the Islamic sect are located. Al-Baba said security forces also thwarted a third operation, where an attacker on a motorbike was going to target a crowded gathering in the capital. He did not give further details. We raided IS hideouts, seizing weapons and explosive caches, said Al-Baba, who said security forces were able to reach the sleeper cell's leader after interrogat

US to pull 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to fight IS

The US will withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the Islamic State group, a US official said Thursday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet announced publicly. The US troops have been critical not only in the operations against the Islamic State but as a buffer for the Kurdish forces against Turkey, which considers them to be aligned with terror groups. President Donald Trump tried to withdraw all forces from Syria during his first term, but he met opposition from the Pentagon because it was seen as abandoning allies and led to the resignation of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The departure of the 600 troops will return force levels to where they had been for years, after the US and its allies waged a multiyear campaign to defeat IS. The US had maintained about 900 troops in Syria to ensure that the IS militants did not regain a foothold, but also as a hedge to prevent ...

Morocco says it dismantled Islamic State cell that was planning attacks

Moroccan authorities this month arrested a dozen people they said were planning attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in the Sahel, a region south of the Sahara Desert, officials said on Monday. The discovery of the terrorist cell and what authorities called an imminent dangerous terrorist plot reflect the expanding ambitions of extremist groups in the region. Authorities did not provide details of the suspects' motives or their plot, beyond saying they planned to set off bombs remotely. They released photographs and videos showing officers raiding terrorist cells throughout the country. The images showed weapons stockpiles found during police raids, Islamic State flags drawn on walls, and thousands of dollars of cash. Morocco remains a major target in the agenda of all terrorist organisations operating in the Sahel, Habboub Cherkaoui, the head of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, said at a news conference. Militant groups have been expanding their presence in

Trump's aid freeze shocks Syria camp holding families linked to IS group

Ahmad Abdullah Hammoud was lucky to have some food stored to feed his family after a US-funded organisation abruptly suspended its aid activities at the sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria where they have been forced to stay for nearly six years. His family is among 37,000 people, mostly women and children, with alleged ties to the Islamic State group at the bleak, trash-strewn al-Hol camp, where the Trump administration's unprecedented freeze on foreign aid caused chaos and uncertainty and worsened the dire humanitarian conditions. When the freeze was announced shortly after Trump took office, US-funded aid programmes worldwide began shutting down operations, including the organisation that runs many operations at al-Hol, which works under the supervision of the US-led coalition formed to fight IS. The US-based Blumont briefly suspended operations, according to the camp's director. It had been providing essentials such as bread, water, kerosene and cooking gas. Blumont didn't

US military conducts airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia

The US military has conducted coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Donald Trump's second term. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the strikes by US Africa Command were directed by Trump and coordinated with Somalia's government. An initial assessment by the Pentagon indicated that multiple operatives were killed. The Pentagon said is assesses no civilians were harmed in the strikes. Trump, in a post on social media, said a senior IS planner and recruits were targeted in the operation. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn't act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! Trump said. The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU! Trump did not identify

Salwan Momika, Iraqi man who burned Quran in Sweden, allegedly shot dead

Salwan Momika, 38, gained international attention in 2023 for burning copies of the Quran in public, acts that resulted in diplomatic tensions between Sweden and several Muslim-majority nations

Islamic State-linked rebels kill at least 10 people in eastern Congo

At least 10 people were killed in eastern Congo by extremist rebels linked to the Islamic State group, a local official said on Wednesday. The rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces, an IS affiliate in the region, attacked the village of Makoko in the Lubero territory of the North Kivu province on Wednesday, a provincial member of parliament, David Sikuli, told The Associated Press. I call on the Congolese government to allow joint operations by Congo and Uganda's army to be expanded in all areas where the ADF are located, Sikuli said. There were no Congolese soldiers in the village, only local fighters known as Wazalendo, who often fight alongside Congolese security forces, he added. Eastern Congo has struggled with armed violence for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings. The violence has caused nearly 7 million people to flee their

FBI now says driver responsible for deadly New Orleans rampage acted alone

The FBI now says that the pickup truck driver responsible for a deadly rampage in New Orleans acted alone. Officials said on Wednesday that they were seeking additional potential suspects in an attack being investigated as an act of terrorism. But Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, said on Thursday that the evidence now shows that Shamsud-Din Jabbar was solely responsible for the attack and professed allegiance to the Islamic State. New Orleans pressed ahead with plans to reopen the city's famed Bourbon Street on Thursday as investigators kept digging into the background of the US Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revellers, killing 15 people. The FBI said it was investigating the attack, which occurred when 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar steered around a police blockade, as a terrorist act. Investigators believe the driver was inspired by the Islamic State group. Authorities recovered a black flag of

US airstrikes on Syria kill 37 militants affiliated to extremist groups

In Syria, 37 militants affiliated to the extremist Islamic State group and an al-Qaeda-linked group were killed in two strikes, the United States military said Sunday. Two of the dead were senior militants, it said. US Central Command said it struck northwestern Syria on Tuesday, targeting a senior militant from the al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen group and eight others. They say he was responsible for overseeing military operations. They also announced a strike from earlier this month on September 16, where they conducted a large-scale airstrike on an IS training camp in a remote undisclosed location in central Syria. That attack killed 28 militants, including at least four Syrian leaders. The airstrike will disrupt ISIS' capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners, the statement read. There are some 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, mostly trying to prevent any comeback by the extremist IS group,

Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi 2024: Best wishes to share with your loved ones

The Islamic festival of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi celebrates the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. As per Islamic calendar, this day is celebrated on Sept 16, 2024, starting in the evening of Sept 15

Iraqi, US forces kill top IS commander, other militants in joint operation

Iraqi forces and American troops have killed a senior commander with the Islamic State group who was wanted by the United States, as well as several other prominent militants, Iraq's military said on Friday. The operation in Iraq's western Anbar province began in late August, the Iraqi military said, and involved also members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and Iraq's air force. Among the dead was an IS commander from Tunisia, known as Abu Ali Al-Tunisi, for whom the US Treasury Department had offered $5 million for information. Also killed was Ahmad Hamed Zwein, the IS deputy commander in Iraq. Despite their defeat, attacks by IS sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, with scores of people killed or wounded. Friday's announcement was not the first news of the operation. Two weeks ago, official has said that the United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected IS militants in the country's western desert that

Terrorism rising, Islamic State extremist's attacks set to double: UN envoy

The top UN envoy for Syria told the Security Council on Monday that the threat of terrorism is resurging with attacks by Islamic State extremists set to double this year, endangering civilians already facing a protracted state of displacement and dire humanitarian conditions. UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said Syria is riddled with armed actors, listed terrorist groups, foreign armies and front-lines 13 years after President Bashar Assad's crackdown on peaceful protests against his government turned to civil war. Nearly a half million people have died in the conflict and half the country's pre-war population of 23 million has been displaced. The Islamic State group declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq that it seized in 2014. It was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year battle that killed tens of thousands of people and left cities in ruins, but its sleeper cells remain in both countries. Pedersen warned the Security ...

Islamic State attacks in Iraq, Syria set to double this year: US military

The US Central Command said Wednesday that the Islamic State group is trying "to reconstitute as the number of attacks in Syria and Iraq is on track to double those of the previous year. IS has claimed 153 attacks in both countries in the first six months of 2024, CENTCOM said in a statement. According to a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't allowed to speak publicly on the matter, the group was behind 121 attacks in Syria and Iraq in 2023. The increase in attacks indicates ISIS is attempting to reconstitute following several years of decreased capability, CENTCOM said. The announcement comes just after the 10-year mark since the militant group declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria. At its peak, the group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom where it attempted to enforce its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be ...

8 people from Tajikistan with possible Islamic State ties arrested in US

Eight people from Tajikistan with suspected ties to the Islamic State group have been arrested in the United States in recent days, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The arrests took place in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles and the individuals, who entered the US through the southern border, are being held on immigration violations, said the people, who were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The nature of their suspected connections to the IS was not immediately clear, but the individuals were being tracked by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF. They were in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which made the arrests while working with the JTTF, pending proceedings to remove them from the country. The individuals from Tajikistan entered the country last spring and passed through the US government's screening process without turning up ...

Here's what is known after IS-K claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people, the most deadly attack in Russia in years. Though the US says it has evidence backing up the jihadists' claim, that didn't stop Moscow and Kyiv from pointing the finger at each other Saturday as the war in Ukraine rages on. Much remains unknown about the Friday night attack, including whether it related to a security alert the US Embassy in Moscow issued two weeks earlier and whether it signals a resurgence of the group in the West. Russia continues to investigate after detaining 11 suspects but it wasn't possible to confirm the authenticity of statements issued by Russian investigators. Here is a look at some of what is known so far. WHO CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, first Friday and then again Saturday, on the social media channels that they typically use to issue statements. In their Saturday statement they

Death toll in Moscow attack reaches 133; Isis claims responsibility

Several assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing at least 40 people, injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media, which couldn't be independently verified. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid, which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described as a huge tragedy" and state authorities were investigating as terrorism. The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country's war in Ukraine dragged into a third year. The Kremlin said that Putin was informed about the raid minutes after the assailants burst into the Crocus City Hall, a large music venue