More than 100 civilians have been killed over the past three days in neighbouring towns in central Mali in attacks blamed on jihadists, local officials and a senior government official said Monday. The killings took place in Diallassagou and two nearby villages, Diaweli and Dessagou, in central Mali, a longtime hotbed of Sahelian violence. An elected official speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons told AFP that the violence was continuing Monday. However, Nouhoum Togo, another official, said that the army had reached the scene of the attack and was able to count the dead. He said on social media that … Continue reading Suspected jihadists kill more than 100 civilians in central Mali

French drone strikes killed nearly 40 Islamic extremists earlier this week who were traveling on motorcycles near Niger’s border with Burkina Faso, France’s military announced on Thursday. In a statement, the French military called the strikes a “new tactical success” for France’s counterterrorism efforts in Africa’s Sahel region, named Operation Barkhane. “Intelligence obtained from Nigerian units in contact with the column confirmed that the motorcycles belonged to an armed terrorist group moving between Burkina Faso and Niger,” a spokesman said. “In close coordination with Niger’s Armed Forces, the Barkhane force conducted several strikes against the column. Nearly 40 terrorists were … Continue reading French drone strikes leave almost 40 Islamist terrorists dead in Niger

The French military announced on Wednesday its capture of a senior leader of the Islamic State group in Mali. French troops deployed in Mali have captured a senior figure in the branch of the Islamic State group in the Sahel region of Africa, the military said Wednesday. “In the night of 11-12 June, an operation of the (French) Barkhane force allowed the capture of Oumeya Ould Albakaye, a senior figure in the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (IS-GS),” a spokesman for the chief of staff told AFP. This is a developing story……… Continue reading France captures Islamic State group leader in Mali

At least 50 civilians have died in an attack by suspected jihadists on a village in northern Burkina Faso, government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said on Monday, describing the killings as a revenge attack. “The army has so far found 50 bodies” after the village of Seytenga was attacked overnight Saturday, Bilgo said, adding that the toll “may rise.” A security source quoted by Reuters put the death toll at more than 100. The United Nations condemned the attack that “claimed many victims” in a statement on Monday and called on Burkina Faso’s authorities to bring perpetrators to justice. Seytenga was the … Continue reading At least 50 civilians killed in suspected jihadist attack on Burkina Faso village

An American woman has confessed to leading an all-female squadron for the so-called Islamic State group in Syria, as well as plotting attacks on American soil. Allison Fluke-Ekren pleaded guilty to one count of providing support to the group and admitted to training over 100 women and girls for violence. The mother and teacher-turned IS leader left the US in 2011, and worked with a terror group in Libya before Syria. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison at her sentencing in October. Fluke-Ekren, 42, a former biology student and school teacher, travelled to Syria to join the … Continue reading US woman admits to training all-female IS battalion in Syria

Gunmen have killed church worshippers in Ondo state, south-west Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari said “only fiends from the nether region” could have done this “dastardly act”. The armed men entered St Francis Catholic church in the town of Owo during a Sunday service. They fired into the congregation and then kidnapped a priest as well as some other church-goers, witnesses said. Nigeria has experienced an upsurge in violence in recent months. Kidnappings and attacks have been reported across the vast country. No figures for the numbers killed or abducted in Sunday’s violence have been confirmed. But a doctor at a … Continue reading OMG: Jihadists murder over 200 Catholic worshippers in Nigeria

Four bombs ripped through minibuses and a mosque in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, officials said, with at least some of the attacks claimed by the Islamic State group. The number of bomb attacks have dropped across the country since the Taliban seized power last year in August, but several deadly bombings had rocked the country during the holy month of Ramadan. On Wednesday, at least 10 people were killed when three bombs placed on board separate minibuses exploded in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a health official and police said. “The bombs were placed on three … Continue reading Four bomb attacks kill at least 12 in Afghanistan

At least 50 people were killed by militants on Sunday around the town of Rann in Nigeria’s Borno state, in the country’s northeastern tip near the border with Cameroon, witnesses told Reuters by phone on Monday. Since 2009, Nigeria’s northeast and Borno state in particular have been the centre of an insurgency led by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Millions have been displaced and some 350,000 people have died from attacks and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations. Over time, Boko Haram has split with an active offshoot called Islamic State West Africa Province also claiming responsibility for attacks in … Continue reading Jihadists kill dozens in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno

Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said on Monday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the VDP volunteers, a leader of the force told AFP. In Kompienga, near Burkina Faso’s southeastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort, a security source in the region said. A local inhabitant said three VDP volunteers also died in this … Continue reading Over 40 people killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso

Three people have been killed and others wounded in what police say is a suspected terror attack in the central Israeli city of Elad. Israeli media reported that two attackers, armed with knives, axes, or both, targeted passers-by in a park. A manhunt is under way, with police setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles. The attack came on Israel’s Independence Day, a public holiday marking the country’s founding. A volunteer medic said the “incident will be deeply etched in my heart”. Moti Tsinvert told The Jerusalem Post the victims were people “who went out just to breathe fresh air in the … Continue reading Three people killed in central Israeli city

Three Chinese language teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suspected suicide bombing in the southern city of Karachi, police say. The blast ripped through their minibus, injuring at least four others near the university’s Confucius Institute. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said it attacked the vehicle carrying the Chinese staff, and that the suicide bomber had been a woman. The group opposes Chinese investment in Pakistan, saying locals do not benefit. It would be the first time a suicide attack by the BLA has been carried out by a female militant. The group has targeted Chinese … Continue reading Tragic: Three Chinese tutors killed in suicide bombing in Pakistan

Six soldiers were killed and 20 injured in simultaneous attacks targeting three army bases in central Mali Sunday, the army said. Targets in Sevare, Niono and Bapho were all hit by “armed terrorist groups (who) used suicide vehicles packed with explosives”, the Malian army said in a statement. A group linked to the firebrand preacher Amadou Koufa claimed the attacks, according to audio sent to AFP Sunday from a source close to the suspected attackers. The group, Katiba of Macina, belongs to the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), an Al-Qaeda-linked alliance and the biggest jihadist network in the Sahel. “On Sunday … Continue reading Several soldiers killed, dozens injured in attacks in Mali