IS releases video of ‘deaths of US troops’ The Islamic State (IS) group has published a video purporting to show an ambush in Niger in which four US soldiers were killed last October. It is not clear why the release of the video – on an IS outlet on messaging app Telegram – was delayed … Read more
Saudi Arabia and its allies unveiled a “terrorist” blacklist on Tuesday of 18 organisations and individuals suspected of links with Islamist extremism that they said had ties with regional rival Qatar. The move by the four Arab governments came despite mounting international pressure to compromise in their weeks-old boycott of their fellow US ally. Saudi … Read more
Indonesia’s government on Wednesday banned the local branch of Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, rejecting criticism from rights groups that the move was undemocratic. The government said it revoked the licence of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) because the group conducted activities that were against the state ideology. Hizb ut-Tahrir, which calls for Islamic law and wants … Read more
Boko Haram have publicly executed eight villagers in northeast Nigeria who opposed the enforcement of its hardline form of Islam, according to a graphic video seen by AFP. The eight were blindfolded and lying face down on the ground when they were shot at close range by four masked gunmen. Crowds were seen cheering, the … Read more
Discreet in his youth and invisible as the world’s most wanted man, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi rose through the ranks quietly and patiently to become global jihad’s undisputed supremo. The reclusive jihadist chief made his only known public appearance as “caliph” at Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, where on Sunday Iraq … Read more
Boko Haram jihadists believed to be from the IS-supported faction loyal to Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi have attacked three military bases in northeast Nigeria, destroying one and killing a soldier, according to the military and vigilantes. The attacks cast doubt on the Nigerian government’s claim that the jihadist group is on the back foot and may … Read more
Forces loyal to east Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar said Wednesday they have cornered the last jihadists in a neighbourhood of second city Benghazi and vowed that victory is “imminent”. The self-styled Libyan National Army said fighting in Soug al-Hout neighbourhood was over and its soldiers had advanced into the central district of Al-Sabri where they … Read more
A US military court has charged an Indonesian detainee at Guantanamo Bay in connection with the 2002 bombing in Bali, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency. The detainee, known as Hambali, was also charged in connection with an attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003. According to rules … Read more
Up to half the food aid meant for people who have fled Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency has reportedly not been delivered, the government says. It described it as a “diversion of relief materials”, which correspondents say is a euphemism for theft. A statement from the acting president’s office added that security was being beefed up to … Read more
Up to half the food aid meant for people who have fled Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency has reportedly not been delivered, the government says. It described it as a “diversion of relief materials”, which correspondents say is a euphemism for theft. A statement from the acting president’s office added that security was being beefed up to … Read more
A court in Cairo has recommended the death penalty for 30 people convicted of involvement in the killing of Egypt’s top public prosecutor. Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a car bomb attack in June 2015. He was the most senior state official to be killed by militants in recent years. Mr Barakat had sent thousands … Read more
Clad in camouflage and armed only with their convictions, the paramilitary wing of Indonesia’s biggest Muslim organisation is on a campaign — to crush intolerance and defend the nation’s inclusive brand of Islam. The “militant moderates” from the Nahdlatul Ulama, which boasts 45 million members, are on the march as worries grow over the rise … Read more
The media have consistently, for far too long, maintained shallow, hollow and horrific reportage on the terror perpetrated by miscreants who claim to be fighting for the sake of Islam. The stock-in-trade of the media has been the broadcast of grievious sights of killings, maimings, bombings and mass destructions with these very people alluding to … Read more
Tunisian judicial authorities on Tuesday slapped a one-month ban on radical Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir, notably for incitement to hatred, the prosecution said. “The activities of the party have been suspended for a month from today,” said prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti. The decision was taken because of the party’s “incitement to hatred and its calls … Read more
Around 30 Cameroonian soldiers fighting the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram were arrested after a demonstration to demand the payment of bonuses and some leave, the defence ministry said Monday. The soldiers on Sunday “set about stopping traffic with barricades on national route number one,” the ministry said in a statement broadcast on state radio. … Read more
A fatal shootout claimed by the Islamic State group was being treated as a terrorist attack, Australian police said Tuesday, as the prime minister condemned it as “shocking and cowardly”. A man of Somali background was killed in a gun battle with police when he opened fire following an hour-long standoff after taking an escort … Read more
The Libyan jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and deemed a terrorist organisation by the UN and United States, announced its “dissolution” in a communique published online on Saturday. Washington accuses the group of being behind the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in … Read more
The air force loyal to Libya’s strongman Khalifa Haftar said Saturday it took part in Egyptian air strikes on jihadist positions in the country after a deadly attack on Egypt’s Copts. Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya’s eastern city of Derna on Friday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying … Read more
Former US defense secretary Robert Gates warned Tuesday that the West can expect further attacks like the suicide bombing in Manchester that killed at least 22 people. Gates, who served under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said Islamic State jihadists would step up international terror attacks as they lose ground in Iraq and … Read more
Four Malian Red Cross employees have been kidnapped in the country’s restive centre, the organisation said Monday, while a local official said negotiations were underway for their release. The Red Cross briefly suspended operations in the northern city of Kidal following a burglary at its offices last month, and has suffered kidnappings of its staff … Read more