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Africa Horn
Puntland Security Forces Apprehend Three IS Suspects in Bosaso
2024-06-05
[SHABELLEMEDIA] Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
State Security forces successfully arrested three individuals suspected to be members of the terrorist bad boy group Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) during an operation in Bosaso town, Barri region, on Sunday night.

The operation, aimed at enhancing security in the region, was carried out in response to threats posed by the suspects to local businesses.

In a statement released on the X platform, the Puntland Security Forces (PSF) announced the successful outcome of their operation. "PSF has conducted operations to improve security in Bosaso, Somalia.

The objective was to identify and apprehend ISIS suspects who had been threatening local businesses. During the operation, the PSF successfully arrested three individuals believed to be involved in these threats," the statement read.

This operation comes in the wake of a recent successful joint operation by the Somali National Army and International Partners, which resulted in the elimination of over 20 al-Shabaab
... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
turbans at the Cal Madow area in the Sanaag region.

The arrests underscore the ongoing efforts by Puntland Security Forces and their commitment to maintaining peace and security in the region. The successful operation not only disrupted potential threats to local businesses but also sent a strong message to terrorist groups operating in the area.

As the Puntland Security Forces continue their efforts to ensure the safety and security of the region, the international community will be watching closely to see how these developments impact the overall security situation in Somalia.
Related:
Bosaso: 2024-06-02 Three ISIS members killed in US airstrike in Somalia's Puntland
Bosaso: 2024-05-16 Somalia: Military court releases Moroccans sentenced to death for joining ISIS
Bosaso: 2024-05-16 Somali pirates taken to Seychelles for prosecution
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS attacks claim nearly 30 lives in first half of May: Monitor
2024-06-03
5/17/2024
[Rudaw] Nearly 30 people have been killed in Syria by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) attacks in the first two weeks of May, a war monitor reported on Friday.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported that ISIS launched 18 attacks in the first half of May, 13 of which were in the areas under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ez-Zor, and five in the areas held by the Syrian regime.

Around 29 people were killed in the attacks, including a civilian.

ISIS attacks in Syria, particularly in the vast expanses of its eastern and northern desert where the group is active amid a security vacuum, have been on the rise in recent months, sparking fears of a possible resurgence.
Link


Iraq
ISIS leader who fought in Mosul arrested in Kurdistan Region
2024-06-03
5/17/2024
[Rudaw] Kurdish security forces on Friday announced the arrest of a "big terrorist" who played a key role in the 2014 Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) takeover of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
The suspect was identified as Soqrat Khalil Ismail, 37, known by ISIS as Abdullah the Explosive because when he joined the group in 2013 he was responsible for explosives.

"He played a key role in the ISIS invasion of Mosul in June 2014," the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said in a statement announcing his arrest.

"We were a group of 300 people when we attacked Mosul in 2014. Abu Lais was our commander," he said in a video confession.

He is also accused of assuming several top positions on the ranks of ISIS, including emir.

Ismail remained in Mosul, fighting Iraqi forces who liberated it in 2017. After the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq, he went to Syria where he held various security positions, according to the statement.

In 2018, he returned to Mosul with a fake passport to collect five million dollars ISIS had hidden in Mosul. After handing the money over to ISIS leaders in Baghdad, he travelled to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
, again using a fake passport.

"After staying in Turkey for a couple months, I could not stay more and wanted to return to Iraq - Kirkuk or Baghdad," he noted. His friends did not welcome him back to Kirkuk so he returned to Turkey and lived there for five years.

Again, he wanted to leave Turkey and travelled to the Kurdistan Region with a fake passport, where he was arrested.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS kills 5 pro-Iran fighters in east Syria: monitor
2024-06-03
5/26/2024
[Rudaw] Five pro-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
fighters were killed in eastern Syria on Sunday by an improvised bomb (IED), a conflict monitor reported, blaming Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) murderous Moslems.

The bandidos murderous Moslems were driving through a checkpoint on the Deir ez-Zor - al-Sukhna road when the IED detonated, killing five fighters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor.

ISIS has increased its attacks in Syria in recent weeks, particularly in the vast expanses of desert where the group launches surprise attacks amid a security vacuum. On Tuesday, Death Eaters killed three Syrian army soldiers in the central province of Homs. On Saturday, they attacked a military checkpoint belonging to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to SOHR.

According to SOHR data, 380 people, including women and kiddies, have bit the dust in ISIS attacks since early 2024.
Related:
Deir ez-Zor: 2024-05-15 Kurdish security forces arrest a migrant smuggler
Deir ez-Zor: 2024-05-15 ISIS kills pro-regime fighter in Syria’s Homs: Monitor
Deir ez-Zor: 2024-05-12 ISIS suicide car bomb kills three SDF in east Syria
Related:
Homs: 2024-05-30 Syria reports young girl killed, 10 other people hurt in alleged Israeli strikes
Homs: 2024-05-26 Two Hezbollah fighters said killed in alleged Israeli drone strike in Syria
Homs: 2024-05-15 Good Morning
Link


Iraq
Five terror suspects arrested in Sulaimani
2024-06-03
5/26/2024
[Rudaw] Kurdish security forces (Asayish) on Sunday announced the arrest of five individuals in Sulaimani on terror-related charges. One of the suspects operated an improvised bomb (IED) factory.

"All five have a history of criminal activities and were previously sought by Iraqi courts," the Asayish said in a statement.

They were arrested during separate operations carried out between May 15 and May 20.

The Asayish did not identify what groups or organizations the five suspects were affiliated with.

Kurdish security forces have arrested several suspected members of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) this year.

Earlier this month, security forces announced the arrest of Soqrat Khalil Ismail who was allegedly responsible for explosives for ISIS and played a key role in the invasion of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
in June 2014.

In February, the Asayish announced the arrest of 30 ISIS suspects who were accused of "spreading the hard boy ideas of ISIS" on social media platforms. And in November, 55 ISIS suspects, including three emirs, were arrested in a five-month long operation in Sulaimani.
Related:
Asayish: 2024-05-15 Kurdish security forces arrest a migrant smuggler
Asayish: 2024-05-04 ISIS kills four Syrian army soldiers each in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces
Asayish: 2024-04-21 SDF capture 38 ISIS suspects
Related:
Sulaimani: 2024-05-15 Kurdish security forces arrest a migrant smuggler
Sulaimani: 2024-05-10 Production fully restored at Khor Mor after attack: Dana Gas
Sulaimani: 2024-05-07 Turkey launches fresh airstrikes in Iraq as Erdogan renews threats for offensive
Link


Iraq
Over 850 IDPs return home from Sulaimani camps: Ministry
2024-06-03
5/31/2024
[Rudaw] Over 850 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in Sulaimani camps returned to their original places of residence in Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces, Iraq’s migration and displaced minister announced on Thursday.

Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced Evan Faeq Jabro on Thursday announced the return of 872 people from the Ashti IDP camp in Sulaimani, according to a statement from the ministry. Ashti camp is the last IDP camp that houses displaced persons in the Sulaimani province.

The IDPs returned to Salahaddin’s Yathrib district and the Yazidi town of Shingal in Nineveh.

"Based on the directives of the minister, the ministry's staff delivered financial grant checks amounting to four million dinars," continued the statement adding that the returnees were given goods such as a TV, stove and refrigerator as well as relief material.

The return of the IDPs comes as the July 30 deadline set by the ministry to stop aid to the displaced persons and close the camps approaches.

In March, officials from the Iraqi migration ministry told Rudaw that it would stop all aid for the displaced persons in the Kurdistan Region by July 30, adding that the displaced persons would receive 4 million dinars [about $2,670] in aid as an incentive to encourage their return.

Iraq says there are over 30,000 IDPs from Iraq’s southern and central provinces living in the Kurdistan Region’s camps.

Despite the financial incentive, many IDPs are reluctant to return home because of continuing violence in their hometowns, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their homes, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps have been forced to return, because they could not secure basic needs in their hometowns.

The camps in the Kurdistan Region also suffer from a lack of funds. In December, a Sulaimani migration department official told Rudaw that residents of Arbat camp were moved to Ashti camp to save money after aid was cut off.

There are more than 630,000 IDPs in the Kurdistan Region, though most of them reside outside of the 23 camps established across Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaimani provinces, according to figures from the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Joint Crisis Coordination Center. The Kurdistan Region was hosting several million IDPs at the peak of the conflict with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS).
Related:
Yathrib district: 2022-11-01 A joint Iraqi force thwart a terrorist attack in Saladin
Yathrib district: 2022-02-27 Joint force carries out military operation in Saladin
Yathrib district: 2021-07-31 ISIS kills seven; wounds 17 people in Saladin
Related:
Shingal: 2024-04-29 France charges ex-wife of ISIS leader with crimes against humanity
Shingal: 2024-04-23 Protests against U.S. military presence in Niger continue
Shingal: 2024-04-21 ISIS mass grave found in Shingal
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rudaw Round up: SDF vs ISIS in Syria
2024-06-02
SDF arrest suspect accused of smuggling ISIS families
6/1/2024
[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced the arrest of an individual accused of smuggling people out of al-Hol camp, which houses families linked to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) in northeast Syria (Rojava).

Abdullah Muhammad Ibrahim, known as Abu Hisham, was arrested in the village of Abu Jern in northeastern Hasaka. Ibrahim was "actively smuggling ISIS members and families out of al-Hol camp," the SDF stated.

"The terrorist Ibrahim was involved in smuggling children known as ’Cubs of the Caliphate’ and women affiliated with ISIS. He aimed to transport them to ISIS-controlled areas in the Syrian Badia desert and Ottoman Turkish-occupied territories that harbored the ISIS key leaders," read a statement from the SDF.

The SDF arrested thousands of ISIS fighters along with their wives and children when they took control of the group’s last stronghold in Syria in March 2019. Many of these people have been living in camps for the past five years.

Al-Hol is the largest of these camps. It is located in northeast Syria’s Hasaka province and houses over 50,000 ISIS-linked people. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Residents come from around the world, but the majority are Syrian and Iraqi.

Iraq has brought nearly 9,000 of its nationals back so far, but the repatriations have sparked opposition from tribes unwilling to accept and welcome people associated with the group that committed atrocious human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
abuses and war crimes from 2014 to 2017, when it controlled vast areas of the country.

SDF, US-led coalition arrest ISIS leader in east Syria: Monitor
6/1
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the United States-led coalition on Friday arrested a suspected leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, a conflict monitor reported.

“In a special operation in the town of al-Busayrah in Deir ez-Zor countryside, the global coalition forces and the SDF arrested a leader of the Islamic State organization who leads a cell in the town to launch attacks and target SDF areas,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor.

Joint operations to pursue ISIS cells on the banks of the Euphrates River are ongoing, the monitor said, two days after the US-led coalition arrested three people in an airdrop operation in Hasaka province, with the support of the SDF.

ISIS attacks in Syria, particularly in the vast expanses of its eastern desert where the group is active amid a security vacuum, have been on the rise in recent months, sparking fears of a possible resurgence.

The commander of American operations in the Middle East, CENTCOM, General Michael Kurilla told Congress in March that if US troops were to leave, as they are under pressure to do in Iraq, “ISIS would reconstitute the ability to seize territory within two years,” according to the Pentagon’s most recent quarterly report on anti-ISIS operation.

Hundreds of US troops stationed in Syria are part of an international coalition that has fought ISIS alongside the SDF.

ISIS attacks oil field in east Syria: Watchdog
5/31
Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells on Friday attacked an oil field in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, setting one of the wells on fire, a conflict monitor reported. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that “ISIS cells attacked one of the oil wells in Al-Sabhan oil field in the northern countryside of Deir Ezzor, where they burned it, before fleeing to an unknown destination.”

ISIS has increased its attacks in Syria in recent weeks, particularly in the vast expanses of desert where the group launches surprise attacks amid a security vacuum.

No casualties have been reported, according to the watchdog.

The Arab-majority province of Deir ez-Zor was where ISIS militants made their last stand in Syria and were territorially defeated. Control of the province, on the Iraqi border, is now split between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime, along with its Iranian backers.

It is also home to many of the country’s key oilfields, such as Omar and Conoco, which the US-led global coalition against ISIS helps the SDF protect.

According to SOHR data, ISIS has conducted 124 operations in the areas controlled by the SDF, killing 63 individuals, including 11 civilians.

SDF arrests senior ISIS member in Raqqa
5/25
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced they had arrested a senior Islamic State (ISIS) member in Raqqa earlier in the week.

On May 21, the Military Operations Teams (MOT) of our SDF forces conducted a precise and special security operation targeting one of the key leaders of ISIS cells in the northern countryside of Raqqa, known as Ayman Abdel Moati, aka Yacoub Al-Hadidi or Osama Al-Qurashi,” the SDF said in a statement.

Moati was the terror group’s “military official in Raqqa and the planner of all terrorist acts in Raqqa and its countryside, including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and intimidation of civilians,” according to the SDF.

His personal documents and mobile phones, along with a variety of ammunition, were also seized during the operation.

On Tuesday, the SDF had said it arrested two “dangerous” ISIS leaders in Qamishli and Raqqa.

UK repatriates four ISIS-linked nationals from Rojava
5/24
Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) this week handed over a British woman and three children affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) to a visiting delegation from the United Kingdom.

A British woman and three children linked with ISIS were handed over to the delegation on Wednesday, the statement added, without identifying the four people or clarifying where they were held before their repatriation. The Associated Press reported that they were last detained at Roj camp.

The British government has yet to comment on the rare repatriation of its nationals from Syria.

Thousands of people from around the world affiliated with ISIS live in camps in Rojava, the largest of which is the sprawling al-Hol camp that has more than 40,000 residents. The camp has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism.

Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the ISIS-linked people held at al-Hol. Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said in March that around 20,000 Iraqis below the age of 18 are still at al-Hol.

Earlier this month, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Finland repatriated a total of 22 of their citizens.

Two ‘dangerous’ ISIS leaders captured in Rojava: SDF
5/22
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Tuesday the arrest of two “dangerous” Islamic State (ISIS) leaders during security operations in the cities of Qamishli and Raqqa.

“The Military Operations Teams (MOT) of our SDF forces have conducted two precise security operations that resulted in capturing two ISIS leaders in the cities of Qamishlo and Raqqa,” read a statement from the SDF.

The two leaders were identified as Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qurashi, going under the alias of Abu Moaz al-Kurdi, and Ahmed Thamer al-Muhammad. Quashi was arrested in Qamishli, and Muhammad was arrested in Raqqa.

According to the statement, Qurashi was involved in an explosive car attack in the al-Shuhail town in Deir ez-Zor.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian arrested on suspicion of trying to join ISIS, carry out attack
2024-05-31
[IsraelTimes] Suspect, 22, traveled to Turkey and unnamed states in Africa, hoping to receive training for terrorism

A Paleostinian man is set to be charged with attempting to join the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
terror group in hopes of carrying out an attack, the Israel Police and Shin Bet said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The suspect, 22, was arrested at his home in Sawahera on May 6. He has been ordered to remain in jug until at least June 2.

According to law enforcement, during the interrogation "it emerged that the suspect supports Islamic State [and] recently tried to join the terror group’s ranks."

Authorities said the suspect was in contact with Islamic State representatives abroad, traveled to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
and Africa, and hoped to receive training and guidance on carrying out an attack.

An indictment is set to be filed in the coming days, the statement said.

It was the latest in a number of announcements this year of ISIS-related arrests, most of which have involved young men from neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

In April, security forces said they had foiled a plot by three East Jerusalem men who had sworn allegiance to ISIS and planned to carry out attacks at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium and a local police office, two of whom intended to travel abroad to Syria or Iraq for training. Another East Jerusalem resident, also in his 20s, was later arrested on suspicion of being involved in that plot.

In January, police announced that they’d arrested two suspects, aged 23 and 21, on suspicion of plans to carry out bombing attacks in Jerusalem, in support of ISIS.

Then, later that month, police said they had arrested two more East Jerusalem residents, 19 and 20, who planned to carry out bombing attacks near the Knesset and had purchased chemicals to make explosives.

Israel has seen a number of ISIS-connected terror attacks in recent years, prompting a crackdown in 2022 after a pair of attacks that killed six people.
Related:
East Jerusalem: 2024-05-21 Black flags over the Dark Continent. Who is the Russian Afrika Korps fighting with?
East Jerusalem: 2024-05-20 Raeisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian titzup in helicopter crash
East Jerusalem: 2024-05-18 Israeli soldier moderately hurt in West Bank stabbing; assailant caught
Link


Africa Subsaharan
An Islamist group used child soldiers in Mozambique attacks - HRW
2024-05-17
[AFRICANEWS] An Islamist group operating in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province used boys as young as 13 in attacks on a town last week and residents who were forced to flee the fighting recognized some of the child soldiers as their missing relatives, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

Al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
, which is affiliated to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group, has previously been accused by UN agencies of kidnapping children and using them as soldiers in its insurgency in the region, which began in 2017. A surge of attacks by turbans in March left at least 70 children missing, according to local authorities and a group of aid agencies.

Witnesses told the rights group that dozens of child soldiers were used in the attacks and were seen carrying AK-style assault rifles and ammunition belts. Two people from the same family said they recognized their 13-year-old nephew among the children.

"I saw him with my own eyes," Abu Rachide, a resident of the town, told Human Rights Watch. He said the boy waved at him but marched on. Rachide's sister said the boy, who went missing earlier in the year, appeared to be taking instructions from older fighters.

"I kept wondering how he became a fighter like that in just four months," she told HRW.

The latest attacks on the town of Macomia began Friday and continued until the next day. Islamist fighters looted shops and warehouses for food and exchanged fire with Mozambican and South African soldiers before retreating, HRW and Mozambican media reports said.

At least 10 people, mostly soldiers, were reportedly killed in the latest fighting and about 700 residents fled to nearby forests to escape the attacks, according to the HRW report.

Recruiting children under the age of 15 as soldiers is a war crime under international law. In February judges at the International Criminal Court granted reparations of more than 52 million euros ($56 million) to thousands of victims of a convicted commander of a Ugandan rebel group, which included former child soldiers.

The attacks in Mozambique came days before the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency, which investigates environmental crimes, published a multi-year investigation alleging that millions of tons of timber had been exported illegally from Cabo Delgado to China since 2017 and the profits had been used to finance the insurgency.

The EIA said Tuesday that its investigation found that Chinese traders purchase "conflict timber" from turbans in Cabo Delgado "and export it alongside other wood" in violation of Mozambique's log export ban.

South Africa deployed soldiers to Cabo Delgado as part of a regional force to stem the insurgency, which began in 2017. In 2020, Islamist fighters beheaded dozens of people, many of them children, as the violence spiraled. After a period of relative inactivity, the turbans launched a new wave of attacks this year.

The regional troops announced that they had begun withdrawing from their positions ahead of a July deadline, although soldiers from Rwanda are expected to remain under a separate bilateral deal with Mozambique.

Aid agencies say the conflict forced more than a million people to flee their homes since it started in October 2017 and thousands have been killed. The insurgency also threatens a $20 billion natural gas project in Cabo Delgado.
Link


Britain
Two men accused in UK of plotting ISIS-style machine gun terror attack on Jews
2024-05-15
[IsraelTimes] Court told the two planned to gun down Jews in Manchester; chief rabbi says news ‘harrowing’; police say they believe there is ‘no longer a wider risk to the public’

Two men accused of plotting to gun down Jews in an Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
-inspired attack in northwest England were held without bail Tuesday after appearing in a London court.

Walid Saadaoui, 36, and Amar Hussein, 50, were accused of planning to use machine guns to kill Jews, police and military personnel, prosecutors said in Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The duo face charges of preparing terrorist acts between December 13 and May 9.

A third man, Bilel Saadaoui, 35, was accused of making arrangements for the expected death of his brother, co-defendant Walid Saadaoui.

He pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
to a charge of failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.

Defense lawyer Angelo Saponiere said Bilel Saadaoui was a family man unaware of the alleged plot.

The three were arrested last week by Greater Manchester Police. They were held without bail and are scheduled to appear May 24 for a hearing in the Central Criminal Court.
The Daily Mail has photos of Mr. Saadaoui and his home, adding:
This is the 35-year-old terror suspect arrested over a failure to disclose an alleged Isis-inspired plot to murder Jewish people in a machine gun attack.

Bilel Saadaoui has appeared in court alongside two other men after a series of raids in north-west England.

Saadaoui, from Hindley in Wigan, is charged with failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism after allegedly taking receipt of his brother's will and the key to a safe containing £75,000.

His older brother, Tunisian-born Walid Saadaoui, 36, from Abram in Wigan, was also arrested along with Amar Hussein, 50, and those two have been charged with preparation of terrorist acts.

Walid Saadaoui and Hussein had 'intended causing multiple fatalities using automatic weapons' while also targeting 'law enforcement and military', it was alleged.
Related:
Manchester: 2024-05-13 UK revokes visa of Palestinian student who participated in pro-Gaza protest
Manchester: 2024-05-08 Sunak led the British Conservatives to disaster. But it's not over yet
Manchester: 2024-05-05 Sadiq Khan clinches London mayor's post for record third time
Related:
Wigan: 2020-10-01 Student, 21, is jailed for nearly five years for downloading video on how to make shrapnel-laden suicide vest despite being referred to Government's anti-terror 'Prevent' programme
Wigan: 2020-01-23 Chris Green MP urges Andy Burnham to pursue criminal charges after explosive child grooming report
Wigan: 2017-05-25 Manchester Arena attack, day 4: more raids, more arrests, no more info shared with leaky U.S.
Link


Iraq
Top Iraqi commander killed in ‘terrorist’ attack: Defense ministry
2024-05-15
[Rudaw] A top Iraqi army commander and several soldiers were killed in a "terrorist" attack in the Salahaddin province, the Iraqi defense ministry announced on Monday.

The Iraqi defense ministry announced in a statement colonel Khalid Naji Wassak and several other soldiers were killed "as a result of their repelling of a terrorist attack within their operational area."

Wassak was the commander of the second battalion of the 93rd Infantry Brigade of the Iraqi army that operated in the Salahaddin province, where Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) sleeper cells conduct hit-and-run attacks against the Iraqi armed forces.

ISIS has yet to claim responsibility for the attack.

ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi territory during a brazen offensive in 2014 but it was declared territorially defeated in 2017 when its so-called caliphate in the country fell as Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, claimed back lands lost to the jihadists.

Despite its territorial defeat, the group has continued to pose a serious security threat to the country through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions in several provinces, particularly in areas disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk.

The Iraqi government has said that ISIS is no longer a public security threat as the group has been confined. Baghdad is now in talks with the United States to wind down the global mission against the terror group in Iraq.

In its latest report on the anti-ISIS mission released in February, the Pentagon said the terror group has been contained but not eliminated in Iraq: "In Iraq, due to counterterrorism pressure, the ISIS threat was largely contained, though ISIS continued to exploit security gaps between federal Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), and conducted sporadic attacks, mostly in Shia communities."
I somehow managed to miss that last point until now, but I’m still only a very junior analyst-in-training
Related:
Salahaddin province: 2024-03-31 Iraqi soldier killed in suspected ISIS attack in Kirkuk
Salahaddin province: 2024-01-07 ISIS kills two PMF fighters in Salahaddin
Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) Death Eaters in Syria’s Raqqa province, a war monitor reported on Monday.

"Four members of the regime forces were killed following an attack targeting military positions ... south of the city of Tabqa in the western countryside of Raqqa," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor.

The monitor added that pro-regime reinforcements of the National Defense Forces (NDF) arrived to the site after the festivities.

The NDF is a pro-government militia that has fought alongside Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

ISIS attacks have been on the rise in Syria, particularly in the vast expanses of its eastern and northern deserts where the group launches surprise attacks amid a security vacuum.

Four pro-regime fighters killed in ISIS Syria ambush: Monitor
30-04-2024
[Rudaw] Four members of a pro-government militia were killed in an ambush by Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) Lions of Islam in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, a war monitor reported on Monday, hours after another deadly attack on regime forces.

"Four members of National Defense Forces [NDF] were killed in an ambush carried out by ISIS cells in al-Masrab desert in western Deir ez-Zor countryside," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor.

It is the second ISIS operation against regime and pro-regime forces in hours, after another attack killed four Syrian army soldiers in Raqqa province.

The NDF is a pro-government militia that has fought alongside Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war over a decade ago. It is composed of local volunteers across numerous provinces.
Link



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