#RSF military seizure of Um Baru & Abu Gamra puts the militia within 100 km of Tina (Darfur) & Tiné (Chad). Hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have passed through Tina/Tiné, are headed to the area, or are surviving there now, despite woefully inadequate humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/cKzupg8wa7
RSF military seizure of Um Baru & Abu Gamra puts the militia within 100 km of Tina (Darfur) & Tiné (Chad). Hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have passed through Tina/Tiné, are headed to the area, or are surviving there now, despite woefully inadequate humanitarian response.
The effort is almost certainly, as one Sudan Tribune source from the Joint Forces indicates, “to control remote areas bordering Chad to secure a new supply line via the Tine crossing."
Despite RSF claims that this military push is all for the purpose of civilian protection—an utterly preposterous claim, given RSF actions in El Fasher, El #Geneina, and scores of other villages, towns, and cities in Sudan—it puts at acute risk all those on both sides of the Darfur/Chad, Tina/Tiné border, as well as the humanitarian relief efforts they so desperately need.
The fall of El Fasher in October gives us all too clear a picture of what lies in store for this part of Dar Zaghawa at the hands of the RSF.
IS-Sahel released additional images from the ambush against the Nigerien army in the Dosso region, and boasted in a statement about expanding to Nigeria from Niger, which caused both countries “to accuse each of failure in combating terrorism” and increased tensions. https://t.co/VoVKuhdBiUpic.twitter.com/hI8vx17acU
IS-Sahel released additional images from the ambush against the Nigerien army in the Dosso region, and boasted in a statement about expanding to Nigeria from Niger, which caused both countries “to accuse each of failure in combating terrorism” and increased tensions.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/26/2025 00:00 ||
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JNIM condemns the “barbaric” bombing of a civilian vehicle northeast of Ber, Tombouctou region yesterday, where three civilians were killed and two injured, the Malian army released a statement today reporting that the targeted vehicle was transporting terrorists. pic.twitter.com/to55w6IYyY
JNIM condemns the “barbaric” bombing of a civilian vehicle northeast of Ber, Tombouctou region yesterday, where three civilians were killed and two injured, the Malian army released a statement today reporting that the targeted vehicle was transporting terrorists.
[IsraelTimes] The United States carried out an airstrike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, US President Donald Trump and the US military say, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!,” Trump writes in a post on Truth Social.
The US military’s Africa Command says on X that the strike was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities and killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike comes after Trump, starting in late October, began warning that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
Reuters reported on Monday that the US had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
But it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups.
The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.
Courtesy of Skidmark, Fox News has a brief video of a night launch of something and the AFRICOM announcement:
At the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of War, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities, U.S. Africa Command conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists in Nigeria on Dec. 25, 2025, in Sokoto State.
— U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) (@USAfricaCommand) December 26, 2025
The Nigerian government later confirmed, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that strikes had occurred in parts of northern Nigeria. However, authorities did not provide details on the nature of the operation or the extent of Nigeria’s involvement.
Red State discusses the background — for a month President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have been talking about the situation and warning the government of Nigeria explicitly that we would be intervening if they did not bring the jihadis under control. Then yesterday Boko Haram sent a suicide bomber into a church in Borno State, and the Nigerian Army blandly assured the Christian congregation that they needn’t worry their pretty little heads about anything because the army has it under control. PJ Media points out:
Christmas Day did not slow U.S. government anti-terror activities, including a strike on the Islamic State in jihad-plagued Nigeria on behalf of persecuted Christians.
The genocide against Christians in Nigeria has taken more than 60,000 lives in over a decade of increasingly extreme violence. Tens of thousands have been kidnapped and millions displaced. While the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern for religious freedom, the Trump administration is taking an aggressive and proactive stance in favor of the Christians.
This holiday season, Christians in many countries including Syria, Iraq, Sudan, DRC, Iran, China, Vietnam, and North Korea are in constant fear for their lives. But Nigeria is far and away the deadliest country for Christians anywhere in the world.
A US Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the US worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes and that the Nigerian government had approved them.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the cooperation involved the exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways “consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security.”
Nigeria is battling multiple armed groups, including at least two affiliated with ISIS, an offshoot of the Boko Haram terror group known as the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast, and the less-known Lakurawa group,
…pledged to the Islamic State - Sahel Province operating in Mali, Niger, and the Kebbi and Sokoto states of Nigeria. Their activities are concentrated in five local government areas of Sokoto, namely: Tangaza, Gudu, Illela, Binji, and Silame. Initially founded as a self-defense group to fight Nigerian bandits, the group eventually became increasingly radical. Lakurawa was described as a terrorist group in 2024 …
prominent in the northwestern states like Sokoto, where the gangs use large swathes of forests connecting states as hideouts.
Security analysts said the target of the US strikes could be the Lakurawa group, which in the last year has increasingly become lethal in the region, often targeting remote communities and security forces.
“Lakurawa is a group that is actually controlling territories in Nigeria, in Sokoto state and in other states like Kebbi,” said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher at Good Governance Africa. “In the northwest, there has been the incursion of violent extremist groups that are ideologically driven,” he said, blaming the incursion on the near absence of the state and security forces in hot spots.
Trump ordered the Pentagon last month to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria to try to curb the so-called Christian persecution. The US State Department recently announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in killing Christians there.
And the US recently designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
[SaharaReporters] The Nigerian Army has confirmed that Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... bandidos bully boys were responsible for the deadly kaboom at the Gamboru Juma’at Mosque in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The headquarters of Operation Hadin Kai made the confirmation on Thursday, following investigations into the attack that occurred during Maghrib prayers on Wednesday.
SaharaReporters had reported that five worshippers were confirmed killed while 35 others sustained injuries when a jacket wallah detonated explosives inside the mosque.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Theatre Command front man, Lt. Col. Sani Uba, said findings revealed that the attack was carried out by Boko Haram elements.
According to him, casualties from the incident were immediately evacuated to the General Hospital and the Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri for urgent medical attention.
Uba disclosed that 32 civilians sustained varying degrees of injuries as a result of the earth-shattering kaboom.
He assured residents of Maiduguri and its environs of their safety during the festive season, noting that troops and other security agencies have intensified surveillance and security operations across the city and surrounding areas.
Uba said, "Preliminary findings indicate the incident was caused by a suspected Boko Haram terrorist (BHT) suicide bomber, who detonated an improvised bomb, killing himself and two civilians on the scene.
"The troops, in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, other sister security agencies, the Borno State Government, and NEMA, responded promptly, securing and cordoning off the affected area to prevent further harm and ensure public safety.
"Two of the injured civilians were later confirmed dead at the hospital, while two others are currently at death's door.
"The remaining injured persons are stable and receiving appropriate medical care."
The military reiterated its commitment to maintaining security and preventing further attacks across the North-East region.
Doing such a good job that President Trump sent the Americans in to handle it.
In the latest developments in the DRC, I am told that M23/AFC has repositioned its forces from the surroundings of Uvira in response to mediators' demands.
In the latest developments in the DRC, I am told that M23/AFC has repositioned its forces from the surroundings of Uvira in response to mediators' demands.
The video below shows government-backed militias in Makobola—a position previously held by M23. These militias are fully armed and funded by Kinshasa. Just last week, their commander, National Deputy Willy Mishiki, openly declared that their goal is not limited to Uvira but extends to fulfilling Tshisekedi’s war declaration by invading Rwanda.
The M23/AFC withdrawal from the Uvira area was quickly followed by protests across the East, where civilians demanded that the rebels return and establish order in the city.
On the other side, a campaign of hate speech and calls for the beheading of Rwandophone residents in the area is flaring up, fueled by Kinshasa and its full support for the authors of this incitement.
BREAKING: Cross Border Attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan, Three Attackers , Two Soldiers Killed.
Authorities in the Republic of Tajikistan reported that three armed individuals were killed during a border security operation after illegally crossing into Tajik territory… pic.twitter.com/iQzXXFGHZx
BREAKING: Cross Border Attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan, Three Attackers, Two Soldiers Killed.
Authorities in the Republic of Tajikistan reported that three armed individuals were killed during a border security operation after illegally crossing into Tajik territory from Afghanistan.
According to the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security, the crossing occurred at approximately 23:30 on December 24 within the protected zone of Border Outpost No. 5 “Bog,” part of the 0341 “Sarchashma” Border Detachment in the Qavoq area of Shamsiddin Shohin District. The individuals were located on Tajik territory at 11:15 on December 24 following operational and search measures.
Officials said the group did not comply with an order to surrender and engaged border guards with firearms. A combat engagement followed, during which all three individuals were killed.
Weapons and equipment recovered at the scene included an M-16 rifle, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three pistols fitted with suppressors, ten hand grenades, a night-vision device, explosives, and additional military gear.
[KhaamaPress] Tajik President Emomali Rahmon inaugurated new border security facilities near Afghanistan, reinforcing frontier defences amid rising concerns over cross-border attacks and regional instability.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has inaugurated four new security outposts and a specialised tank training ground along the country’s border with Afghanistan, highlighting renewed efforts to strengthen frontier security.
According to a statement published on the official website of the Tajik presidency, the facilities were opened remotely by Rahmon during a visit to the Ministry of Defence.
The statement said the newly built "tank field" is designed to train specialised military units and is equipped with advanced technology to improve operational readiness.
Tajikistan shares a long, mountainous and mostly non-existent border with Afghanistan, a region historically vulnerable to holy warrior infiltration, smuggling and cross-border violence.
Security concerns along the border have intensified since the Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... returned to power in 2021, prompting Tajik authorities to accelerate border fortification and military modernisation.
Rahmon said significant progress had been made over the past two to three years to reinforce border infrastructure and stressed that efforts to strengthen border forces would continue.
The inauguration follows a deadly cross-border incident in which two Tajik border guards were killed in an attack launched from Afghanistan territory, an incident confirmed by the State Committee for National Security, which said three attackers were also killed.
Earlier, five Chinese nationals were killed in separate attacks near the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, further heightening regional security concerns and underlining Tajikistan’s focus on border defence.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Federal Security Service (FSB) officers have detained another member of Shamil Basayev and Amir Khattab's gang, which attacked Dagestan's Botlikh District in 1999. This was reported on December 25 by the agency's Public Relations Center.
The FSB clarified that, with the participation of the Russian Investigative Committee and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, they found irrefutable evidence of the involvement of Russian citizen Alibi Yaipkaev, born in 1982, in this crime. The suspect was arrested in Stavropol Krai.
Another jihadi from the time before Chechnya’s jihadis formally pledged to Al Qaeda, becoming the Caucasus Emirate. At the rate the Spetznaz hunters find them and bring them to justice, this could go on for another decade or two.
The detainee is charged with crimes under Articles 209 ("Banditry"), 279 ("Armed rebellion"), and 317 ("Attempt on the life of a serviceman") of the Russian Criminal Code. He has been remanded in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
Earlier, on June 25, a court sentenced two members of Basayev's gang, Vakhit Khamzatkhanov and Takhir Begeldiev (both are listed as terrorists and extremists in Russia), to 21 and 24 years in a maximum-security prison colony for their participation in the 1999 attack on Russian military personnel in Chechnya. The investigation established that in October, as part of a militant group of approximately 400, they ambushed Russian fighters in the village of Chervlennaya in the Shelkovsky District. Fifteen Russian soldiers were killed and another 28 were wounded in the shootout.
[Rudaw] Iraq’s intelligence agency announced on Wednesday the arrest of two people for writing 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) slogans on the walls of schools in Kirkuk. They allegedly planned to carry out attacks in the province.
"As part of the ongoing efforts exerted by the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency to eliminate the remaining elements of ISIS terrorist gangs, its specialized counterterrorism units in Kirkuk province carried out a targeted operation that resulted in the arrest of two suspects who had written promotional slogans for ISIS gangs on the walls of one of the province’s schools (unused classrooms), following intelligence and technical surveillance," said the agency in a statement late Wednesday.
It added that the suspects have "explicitly confessed" that they had been recruited by ISIS on social media and that they were planning to carry out terrorist operations in the provinces in the coming days.
[Reuters] This year was one of the most violent on record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to U.N. data.
The Jewish settler outpost of Or Meir is small. A handful of prefabricated white shelters, it sits at the end of a short dirt track on a hill leading up from Road 60, a major route that dissects the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Over time, similar modest dwellings have turned into sprawling Israeli housing developments, part of a plan that members of Israel's cabinet acknowledge they have implemented to prevent the birth of a Palestinian state.
The process can be violent. A Bedouin family told Reuters attackers who descended from Or Meir hurling Molotov cocktails drove them off Palestinian-owned land nearby last year. They fear they won't ever be able to return.
Messages posted on Or Meir's channel on the Telegram social media platform celebrate chasing out Bedouin herders and show the new settlers’ determination to secure lasting control over what they call "strategic" territory.
[IsraelTimes] Troops extracted two Israelis who entered the West Bank’s Area A in separate incidents, Hebrew media outlets report.
In one instance, a Border Police officer got into a car with a Palestinian driver near the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, adjacent to Hebron. Following a search, Israeli forces were able to locate her.
According to the Israel Hayom daily, the search lasted hours after the officer in question couldn’t be reached. The outlet reports that during the search, which made use of security camera footage, forces learned she had gone to visit her Palestinian romantic partner in Yatta, near Hebron.
Because that is what apartheid looks like.
In another incident, troops reportedly extracted an Israeli man who had gone to pray at Joseph’s Tomb, in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Both locations are in Area A, the parts of the West Bank where, under the terms of the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority has security and civil control.
Israeli law bars Israeli citizens from entering Area A, though Israelis have been evacuated from the area in a number of instances in recent days, including one woman who said she was kidnapped and was found by PA security forces.
#Breaking: Two unidentified UAVs, most likely Turkish, approaching #Israel from the direction of the #MediterraneanSea were intercepted and shot down by an AH-64DI+ Peten attack helicopter of #IsraeliAirForce’s 113 Squadron.
— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) December 25, 2025
Text:
Two unidentified UAVs, most likely Turkish, approaching #Israel from the direction of the #MediterraneanSea were intercepted and shot down by an AH-64DI+ Peten attack helicopter of #IsraeliAirForce’s 113 Squadron.
The UAVs’ origin has not yet been officially confirmed; however, their flight path raises the possibility of a Turkish launch, pending further intelligence assessment.
That is a casus belli, an act of war. Is Turkey ready for that, or do they blithely assume the Israelis couldn’t possibly recognize the provenance of their toys? Hey, d’you suppose Israel used their new lasers on the things, dear Reader, ‘cause that would be serious fun. Not for Turkey, of course, but for the rest of us.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/26/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative earlier today in southern Lebanon who was “involved in efforts to rebuild” the terror group’s infrastructure.
According to the military, the operative was targeted in the area of al-Jumayjimah, and his activity constituted a “blatant violation” of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
[Rudaw] Tensions persist in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, as authorities in Damascus continue to impose a siege and cut electricity to residents.
Clashes erupted on Monday between Kurdish Asayish forces and Syrian government troops and allied factions in the two neighborhoods, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen others. Among the dead was 57-year-old Fadwa Muhammad al-Kurdi. The maimed included a maiden of tender years and six members of the Kurdish internal security forces, according to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
After several hours of heavy fighting, the Syrian government and the SDF agreed to a ceasefire.
"The neighborhoods remain under siege, and power outages are ongoing," Mohammed Aliko, head of the communications office of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in the two neighborhoods, told Rudaw on Thursday. "At around 4 am today, a surveillance drone belonging to the Syrian government carried out a suicide kaboom in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood."
The SDC is the political wing of the Kurdish-led SDF.
According to Aliko, two of the seven gates leading into the Kurdish neighborhoods have been completely closed, while movement through the remaining five gates is heavily restricted.
"No one is allowed to enter. People can only exit," he said.
"Fuel and many other essential supplies are not permitted to enter Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh," Aliko added. "Only food and medicine are allowed in."
Since the collapse of the former Assad regime last year, Kurdish-led forces - who maintain security control over the two densely populated neighborhoods, home to more than 1.5 million people - have repeatedly clashed with the new authorities in Damascus.
"Fighting has stopped, but the siege has not yet been lifted," Aliko said.
Authorities in Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh have warned that civilians face the risk of a "massacre" unless the siege imposed by Damascus is lifted.
- Egyptians would be Coptic - Moroccans would be Berber - Libya and Algeria would be Amazigh - Syria and Lebanon would be Aramaic speaking and partly Phoenician - Iraq would be Mesopotamian -… pic.twitter.com/uPjj5JmLNO
The HTS/Al Nusra conquerers are happy to get credit for getting rid of a natural competitor, at least that remnant of ISIS neither they nor Turkey could co-opt. They were going to go after them anyway, after all. Also, once they supersede the Kurds in President Trump’s affections, it will be easier to subdue them, as they’d always planned.
🚨A very extensive operation was carried out last night!
A joint security operation was carried out by the SDF and the Coalition in the village of Al-Shaher, in the Karama subdistrict, eastern Raqqa countryside. The operation targeted individuals wanted on charges of affiliation… pic.twitter.com/VNhcYc6JtF
🚨A very extensive operation was carried out last night!
A joint security operation was carried out by the SDF and the Coalition in the village of Al-Shaher, in the Karama subdistrict, eastern Raqqa countryside.
The operation targeted individuals wanted on charges of affiliation with ISIS. One person was killed and two others were arrested during the operation.
Coalition helicopters took part in the operation, and their engine noise is still being heard in the area.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/26/2025 00:00 ||
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#Syria: Jordan carried out at 7-8 airstrikes tonight, targeting the Southern and SE. countryside of #Suwayda - a known Captagon trafficking hub since Assad's era.
Several farms & warehouses in Sheab (map) and 4-5 other villages were hit.
Jordan carried out at 7-8 airstrikes tonight, targeting the Southern and SE. countryside of Suwayda - a known Captagon trafficking hub since Assad's era.
Several farms & warehouses in Sheab (map) and 4-5 other villages were hit.
The extent of the damage and whether there are any casualties is still unknown.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Hussein al-Jawhari, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, an elite unit of the Iranian Armed Forces), in Lebanon. This was reported by IDF spokesman Avichai Edri on December 25.
"We succeeded in killing Hussein al-Jawhari, a prominent officer in the special forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Edri said in a video message distributed in Arabic in X.
An Iranian officer was killed in a drone strike on a vehicle in the Lebanese town of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali in the northern Bekaa Valley.
According to the IDF, al-Jawhari has been involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel in recent years.
On December 9, the Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah military targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The strikes hit a training complex where militants received marksmanship and weapons training, as well as a missile launch pad and other military facilities used for attacks on Israel.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...
...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 
