Page 2 - Islamic State

Islamic State group poses rising threat in Africa despite progress: UN

The Islamic State extremist group poses a rising threat amid political instability in West Africa and the Sahel and remains intent on carrying out attacks abroad, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Thursday. Vladimir Voronkov reiterated U.N. findings that IS continues to pose a significant threat to international peace and security, especially in conflict zones, despite significant progress by U.N. member nations in countering the threat. The group has also increased operations in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria as well as Southeast Asia, Voronkov said. Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that in West Africa and the Sahel, a broad region cutting across the continent, the situation has deteriorated and is becoming more complex, as local ethnic and regional disputes cross with the agenda and operations of the extremist group, which is also known by its Arabic name Daesh, and its affiliates. Daesh affiliates continued to operate with increasingly more autonomy from the

Islamic State claims responsibility of minibus explosion in Afghan capital

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital late on Saturday that killed at least five people. The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom they called disbelievers, in a statement released shortly after the explosion Saturday. It was the first attack in the country in 2024. Fifteen other people were wounded in the attack in Kabul's western Shiite neighbourhood of Dashti Barchi, according to police spokesperson Khalid Zadran, raising the toll on Sunday from an earlier figure of two killed and 14 wounded. The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan. The group has carried out major assaults on schools, hospitals and mosques, and has also attacked other Shiite areas across the country. The United Nations Assistance mission in Afghanistan in a statement on X called for an end to targeted attacks on ..

Islamic State group claims responsibility for minibus explosion in Kabul

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital late Saturday that killed at least two people. Fourteen others were wounded in the attack in Kabul's western Shiite neighbourhood of Dashti Barchi, according to police spokesperson Khalid Zadran. The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom they called disbelievers, in a statement released shortly after the explosion Saturday. It was the first attack in the country in 2024. The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan. The group has carried out major assaults on schools, hospitals, and mosques, and has also attacked other Shiite areas across the country. In November, in the same area of Kabul, the IS claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in which seven people were killed and 20 others were wounded. On October 26, four people were killed and seve

Death toll in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts in Iran rises to 91

The death toll from a suicide bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has risen to at least 91, state TV reported Saturday. The TV quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country's emergency services, as saying an 8-year boy and a 67-year-old man, who were wounded in the attack, have now died. Yektaparast added that there are 102 people still being treated in hospitals, of whom 11 are in critical condition. In Wednesday's attack, one suicide bomber detonated his explosives, then another attacked 20 minutes later as emergency workers and other people tried to help the wounded. The attack took place in Kerman, about 820 kilometres (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. It targeted a commemoration for Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by a US drone strike as he led its expeditionary Quds Force. The intelligence ministry said Friday that one of the two suicide bombers was a Tajik national. At least 11 people linked to the attack have been arrested.

Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly blasts that rattled Iran

Islamic State, an extremist Sunni group, is ideologically opposed to Shia-dominated Iran, regarding Shias as infidels

Iran suspects suicide bombers launched attack as IS claim circulates

Investigators believe suicide bombers likely carried out an attack on a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 US drone strike, state media reported on Thursday, as Iran grappled with its worst mass-casualty attack in decades and as the wider Mideast remains on edge. A purported claim of responsibility circulated online attributed the attack to the Islamic State group, though it could not be immediately verified by The Associated Press. Wednesday's attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded another 284. It targeted a ceremony honouring Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, held as an icon by supporters of the country's theocracy and viewed by the US military as a deadly foe who aided militants who killed American troops in Iraq. A report by the state-run IRNA news agency, later aired by state television, quoted an unnamed informed source" for the suicide bombing information. The outlets quoted the official as saying that surveillance footage from the

NIA files chargesheet against 6 accused in Maharashtra ISIS module case

The NIA has filed a chargesheet against six accused in the Maharashtra ISIS terror-module case, highlighting a larger conspiracy with international linkages and the involvement of foreign-based handlers of the terror group, an official said on Thursday. The accused, chargesheeted before the NIA Special Court in Mumbai under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC), were allegedly engaged in actively propagating the violent and extremist ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and carrying out acts preparatory to terrorist violence through the recruitment of individuals to the organisation and its cause, a spokesperson of the federal agency said. The official identified the chargesheeted accused as Tabish Nasser Siddiqui of Mumbai, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala alias "Lalabhai", Sharjeel Shaikh and Aakif Ateeque Nachan of Borivali-Padgha, and Zubair Noor Mohammad Shaikh alias "Abu Nusaiba" and Adnanali Sarkar of ...

IS claims responsibility for attack that killed 20 Syrian soldiers

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an ambush in eastern Syria that killed at least 20 government soldiers and wounded others, warning that such attacks will continue. IS sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in Syria in 2019. The group once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq where they declared a caliphate in 2014. The Friday night statement said IS fighters ambushed two army trucks in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour using different kinds of weapons. IS claimed that 40 members of the Syrian military were killed and 10 were wounded. Syrian opposition activists said the Thursday night attack on a bus carrying soldiers near the town of Mayadeen killed at least 20 soldiers and wounded others. State media said several soldiers were killed and wounded, without giving a breakdown. Let the whole world know that our allegiance to our leaders is practiced with deeds and not words and our Jihad is going on until Doomsday, IS said. Last w

Kuwait executes 5 including 1 convicted in 2015 IS-claimed mosque bombing

Kuwait said Thursday it executed five prisoners, including an inmate convicted over the bombing of a Shiite mosque in 2015 that killed 27 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group. The inmates were hanged at the Central Prison, Kuwait's Public Prosecution said in a statement. Prosecutors said the five include the mosque attacker, three people convicted of murder and a convicted drug dealer. One of the convicted murderers was Egyptian, another was Kuwaiti, and the convicted drug dealer was from Sri Lanka. The statement didn't provide the nationality of the mosque attacker or the third convicted murderer, saying only that they were in Kuwait unlawfully. The 2015 bombing occurred during midday Friday prayers inside one of Kuwait's oldest Shiite mosques. The Islamic State group, which at the time controlled large areas in both Syria and Iraq, claimed the attack. The Sunni extremist group views Shiites as apostates deserving of death. It was the first militant attack in Kuwai

France returns 35 citizens from camp in Syria linked to ISIS extremists

France has returned 35 people 10 women and 25 minors from a sprawling camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to Islamic State extremists. Al-Hol Camp named after a town near the Iraqi border holds about 51,000 people, including many widows, wives and children of Islamic State fighters. Iraqis make up nearly half the population, but a sizeable minority are from outside the Middle East. Part of the camp called the Annex holds around 8,000 women and children from 60 nationalities who are considered the most die-hard among the residents, and experts have warned for years that the camp's wretched conditions and confined spaces risk creating another generation of Islamic State fighters. French citizens made up the largest European contingent of people who joined the Islamic State at the height of the extremist group's reach. With its territorial defeat in 2019, France has brought home women and children in successive waves. All 10 of the adults, women aged 23 to 4

'Dramatic decrease' in Islamic State activities in Iraq and Syria: US

This past Ramazan, normally a time when IS ramps up its attacks and activities, was "one of the most peaceful in years," said US Major General Matthew McFarlane

Islamic State conspiracy case: NIA searches 5 locations in MP, Maharashtra

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has carried out searches at five places in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as part of its ongoing investigation to unravel a conspiracy hatched by the global terror group Islamic State to expand its activities in India, an official said on Sunday. The searches were conducted by different teams at the houses of the suspected persons at four places in Seoni (Madhya Pradesh) and one location in Pune (Maharashtra), a spokesperson of the anti-terror federal agency said. Following up on the investigational leads, the official said, NIA teams searched the houses of suspects Talha Khan in Pune and Akram Khan in Seoni in the Islamic State- Khorasan Province (ISKP) case. "This case was initially registered by Delhi Police special cell after the arrest of a Kashmiri couple - Jahanzaib Sami Wani and his wife Hina Bashir Beigh - from Okhla in Delhi. The couple was found to be affiliated with ISKP," the spokesperson said. During investigations, the role of

Death toll from Islamic State attack in Syria rises to at least 53: Reports

The death toll from an attack by the Islamic State group against an army checkpoint and people collecting truffles in central Syria has risen to at least 53, most of them civilians, state media and an opposition war monitor reported Saturday. The attack near the central town of Sukhna on Friday was the deadliest by the extremist group since so far this year, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor said. The Observatory said the attack targeted a Syrian army checkpoint and people collecting wild truffles nearby, killing 68 people, including 61 civilians. It said IS fighters reached the area on motorcycles. On Friday, it reported that the attack killed 46. The Observatory, which tracks Syria's conflict, said the IS gunmen took advantage of the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria killing tens of thousands of people to carry out their deadly attack. The attention in Syria has been mostly focused on the earthquake over the past two ...

NIA arrests two more alleged operatives of Islamic State from Karnataka

Two alleged operatives of global terror group Islamic State were arrested from Karnataka, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official said

Iraq military bombs two hideouts housing 10 IS militants, all killed

Over the past months, Iraqi security forces had conducted operations against extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities

What we know about Iran's notorious 'morality police' and how it operates

This force has been patrolling the streets of Iran since 2006, arbitrarily enforcing its strict dress code

Iran morality police status unclear after 'closure' comment due to protests

An Iranian lawmaker said Sunday that Iran's government is paying attention to the people's real demands, state media reported, a day after a top official suggested that the country's morality police whose conduct helped trigger months of protests has been shut down. The role of the morality police, which enforces veiling laws, came under scrutiny after a detainee, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, died in its custody in mid-September. Amini had been held for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress codes. Her death unleashed a wave of unrest that has grown into calls for the downfall of Iran's clerical rulers. Iran's chief prosecutor Mohamed Jafar Montazeri said on Saturday the morality police had been closed," the semi-official news agency ISNA reported. The agency did not provide details, and state media hasn't reported such a purported decision. In a report carried by ISNA on Sunday, lawmaker Nezamoddin Mousavi signalled a less confrontational approach toward the ...

Mass grave of Islamic State victims found in Syria's Palmyra: Report

Syrian authorities found a mass grave in the historic town of Palmyra with bodies of victims of the militant Islamic State group, which controlled the area years ago, Syria's state news agency said Friday. According to the report on SANA, the mass grave was discovered near the second-century Roman amphitheater. The agency said the remains of 12 people buried there have been taken to hospital morgues for identification before they can be handed over to their families. Palmyra is a UNESCO world heritage site and once linked Persia, India, China with the Roman empire and the Mediterranean area. The Islamic State militants controlled the area in two turns in 2015-2016, and killed scores of people there killings often captured in extremist propaganda videos before they were evicted. IS also damaged some of the town's famed archaeological treasures. The brutality and the actions by IS in Palmyra triggered an international outcry. Palmyra was retaken in 2017 by Syrian government forces w

Lafarge pleads guilty to supporting Islamic State, will pay US $778 mn

The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organisation

Ukraine War: What are Kamikaze drones deployed by the Russian military?

As Russia has unleashed a wave of Kamikaze drones on Ukraine for the second time, let's understand what is this weapon and how does it work