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Tag: Islamic State group

  • At least 33 soldiers killed in an IS vehicle assault in Syria

    At least 33 soldiers killed in an IS vehicle assault in Syria

    The so-called Islamic State group (IS) carried out an attack that resulted in the deaths of at least 33 soldiers who supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    Two army trucks were ambushed overnight on Thursday in the eastern region of Deir el-Zour.

    It is among the bloodiest acts of extremism committed this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a war monitoring organisation with headquarters in Britain.

    There have been 33 deaths in the last two days, up from 23, but there are worries the figure will go up.

    There were at least 10 additional victims of injuries, some of whom are still in critical condition.

    35 people were killed, according to another activist group that reports on events in the east, and all of the victims were soldiers from the 17th Division of the Syrian army.

    Statistics from SOHR show that since the beginning of 2023, 412 people have died during military operations in the Syrian desert.

    The ambush was claimed by IS in a message posted on Telegram on Friday night.

    Let the entire world know that we show our commitment to our leaders via deeds rather than words and that our jihad will continue till the end of the world.

    This occurs a week after the apparent leader of the extreme group, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, who had been in charge since November, passed away in Syria.

    Since the organization’s founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was murdered by US troops in the nation’s northwest in 2019, he was the fourth leader to be assassinated.

  • Terrorism in Nigeria : US orders families of embassy employees to depart Nigeria

    The State Department has ordered that non-emergency US embassy employees and their families leave Abuja, Nigeria, “due to the heightened risk of terrorist attacks there.”

    In addition, the department issued a “Level 3” travel advisory for the entire country, urging people to “reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and maritime crime.”

    The State Department authorised the departure of non-emergency US government employees and family members earlier this week, after previously warning of planned terror attacks in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

    “Targets may include, but are not limited to, government buildings, places of worship, schools, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, athletic gatherings, transport terminals, law enforcement facilities, and international organizations,” its October 23 advisory said of the alleged plots.

    In an updated travel advisory issued Thursday, the State Department flagged 15 other Nigerian states in its “Do Not Travel” list due to risks ranging from terrorism to kidnapping and criminal activities perpetrated at sea.

    In a similar advisory to British nationals, the UK government advised against nonessential travel to the Nigerian capital, while warning against all travel to 12 Nigerian states.

    A popular Abuja mall closed its doors Thursday for the protection of staff and customers, its management said, adding that it was reviewing the security situation in consultation with authorities.

    Nigeria’s police chief, Usman Alkali Baba, said there were “no imminent threats” in the country’s Federal Capital Territory.

    “The Inspector General of Police, therefore, allays the fear of residents in the FCT and admonishes them to go about their lawful businesses and normal social lives/engagements as all hands are on deck to nip any security threat in the bud and respond to distress calls promptly,” a statement by his office said Thursday.

    “The IGP similarly reiterates the commitment of the Nigeria Police to eliminating all threats, as well as protection of lives and property of all residents of the country,” the statement added.

    Insurgency has remained rife in northeastern Nigeria, even as the country also struggles to contain motorbike riding gangs known locally as ‘bandits’ who carry out deadly attacks on communities in the northwestern region.

    Nigeria also grapples with widespread kidnappings for ransom and maritime crimes in its southern region.

    Hundreds of prisoners were broken free in a prison raid in the country’s capital in July. According to authorities, all inmates linked to Boko Haram escaped during the attack.

    The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the raid.

     

  • Elshafee El Sheikh: Ex-Briton ‘Isis Beatle’ sentenced to life in prison

    An Islamic State group militant from the UK has been sentenced to life in prison by a US court for his involvement with a terror cell.

    El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, was convicted in April of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens, and supporting a terrorist organization.

    Addressing the Sudanese-born Londoner, the judge called his actions “horrific, barbaric, brutal and criminal”.

    Elsheikh was the highest profile IS fighter to stand trial in the US.

    His actions are said to have resulted in the deaths of four US hostages.

    Journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig were all kidnapped and killed at the hands of the cell.

    Hostage families expressed a mixture of gratitude and disappointment for the outcome. Standing outside the courthouse on Friday, James Foley’s mother, Diane, called the sentencing a “hollow victory,” but said that it did show that “US justice will find you wherever you are”.

    “Our country has lost four of its very best citizens. We families lost loved ones forever,” she said.

    The sentencing came on the eight-year anniversary of Foley’s death. Mrs Foley told the BBC that when she first heard of her son’s death she thought it was “some cruel joke”.

    Hostages said Elsheikh was part of a notorious cell nicknamed “the Beatles” – after the band – because of their British accents.

    Source: BBC news

  • IS video said to show Nigerian Christian executions

    The Islamic State group has published a video which it says shows the execution of 20 Christian civilians in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno state.

    Speaking in the Hausa language, one of the masked militants who was brandishing a knife said it was to avenge the killing of the group’s leaders in the Middle East earlier this year.

    The BBC has not been able to verify the contents of the video or where the footage was shot.

    It was published on an IS-linked news outlet and shows three groups of captives in civilian clothes.

    The authorities have not yet commented on the video.

    The IS militants, which operate in the Lake Chad region under the name Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), along with another Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, have recently suffered huge losses as a result of attacks by a multi-national military force.

    Such military campaigns in the past have usually been followed by propaganda videos from the extremist groups.

    Source: BBC