US carries out strike against ISIS in Somalia
The US military carried out an air strike Saturday against ISIS in the Puntland region of Somalia, killing several ISIS operatives, Africa Command said.
In a statement, the European-based command said the latest raid was conducted in coordination with the Somali government and hit 'multiple ISIS-Somalia targets.'
The ISIS group's Somalia operation is relatively small compared to the al-Qaeda-linked extremists al-Shabaab, but it has been gaining strength in semi-autonomous Puntland.
'The airstrike occurred southeast of Bosasso, Puntland, in Northeastern Somalia,' the AFRICOM statement said.
'AFRICOM's initial assessment is that multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed,' it said.
The latest strike follows a similar operation two days earlier that AFRICOM said complemented 'a larger counter-terrorism initiative' under way in Somalia.
And it follows US strikes in February, which Puntland authorities said had killed 'key figures' in ISIS, without giving further details.
With AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
10 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel confirms it is arming Hamas rivals in operation opposition calls ‘complete madness'
TEL AVIV — Israel is arming local militias in Gaza in an effort to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, officials say, as opposition politicians warned that the move endangers national security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the covert enterprise on Thursday, calling it 'a good thing.' In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu said Israel had 'activated clans in Gaza which oppose Hamas,' and that it was done 'under the advice of security elements.' Former defense minister and Netanyahu rival Avigdor Liberman divulged the move on Israel's Ch. 12 News on Wednesday, saying that Israel was distributing rifles to extremist groups in Gaza and describing the operation as 'complete madness.' 'We're talking about the equivalent of ISIS in Gaza,' Liberman said one day later on Israel's Army Radio, adding that Israel is providing weapons to 'crime families in Gaza on Netanyahu's orders.' 'No one can guarantee that these weapons will not be directed towards Israel,' he said, a warning echoed by one of the officials who spoke with CNN. After Liberman's revelation, the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying, 'Israel is acting to defeat Hamas in various ways upon the recommendation of the heads of the security establishment.' The ongoing operation was authorized by Netanyahu without security cabinet approval, two officials told CNN, which is the normal forum for making major policy decisions. Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners would likely have vetoed such a Hamas said the plan revealed 'a grave and undeniable truth.' In a statement, the militant group said: 'The Israeli occupation army is arming criminal gangs in the Gaza Strip with the aim of creating a state of insecurity and social chaos.'One group that has received weapons from Israel is the militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab, officials said. Abu Shabab heads an armed group that controls some territory in eastern Rafah and he has posted photos of himself holding an AK-47 rifle with UN vehicles behind him. Though Abu Shabab has denied receiving weapons from Israel, Hamas has accused him of being a 'traitor.''We pledge before God to continue confronting the dens of that criminal and his gang, no matter the cost of the sacrifices we make,' Hamas said on politicians ripped Netanyahu for the plan to arm militias and the secrecy around it, lambasting it as a continuation of the Israeli leader's decision to allow millions of dollars in cash to travel from Qatar to Gaza beginning in late 2018. They accused him of strengthening Hamas in the past as an alternative to the rival Palestinian Fatah faction, and now arming gangs as an alternative to Hamas.'After Netanyahu finished handing over millions of dollars to Hamas, he moved on to supplying weapons to groups in Gaza affiliated with ISIS – all improvised, with no strategic planning, and all leading to more disasters,' opposition leader Yair Lapid said on social has not laid out a plan for who will govern Gaza in the future and has hardly made clear any of his post-war intentions for the coastal enclave. Part of Israel's war goals include the complete disarmament of Hamas and the end of its ability to govern in the arming of militias in Gaza appears to be the closest that Netanyahu has come to empowering any form of alternate nearly 20 months of war, Israel has not been able to dislodge Hamas completely from large swaths of Gaza, and the militant group – classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, the United States, and the European Union – has clung to Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats party, said in a post on social media: 'Instead of bringing about a deal, making arrangements with the moderate Sunni axis, and returning the hostages and security to Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking bomb in Gaza.' — CNN
Leaders
13 hours ago
- Leaders
Brazilian President Describes Israel War on Gaza as ‘Premeditated Genocide'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday condemned Israeli war on Gaza and called it a 'premeditated genocide,' during his visit to Paris, according to Al-Jazeera. Premeditated Genocide Lula noted that the Israeli military campaign had killed at least 52 people in its latest attack on Gaza. 'This is not a war. It is genocide. A genocide being carried out by a highly trained army, against women and children' Lula said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 119,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. '[It is] a premeditated genocide from a far-right government that is waging a war, including against the interests of its own people,' he said. This was not the first time for Lulu to use the term 'genocide' to describe Israel's actions in Gaza. However, Macron has reserved his opinion, stating in May that it was not for a 'political leader to use the term, but up to historians to do so when the time comes'. France and Saudi Arabia are set to co-chair an international conference this month at the UN in order to deeply consider a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Paris has unveiled that it could formally recognize a Palestinian state this year. Harsh Attack on Macron In May, Israel accused French President Emmanuel Macron of undertaking a 'crusade against the Jewish state.' The Israeli statement came after Macron's call for European countries to toughen up their stance on Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve. New Settlements Israel recently announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank. Consequently, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel planned to build a 'Jewish Israeli state' in the occupied West Bank. 'This is a decisive response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land,' Katz said. Katz also noted that the new settlements would be a clear message to French President Emmanuel Macron and his associates: they will recognize a Palestinian state on paper – but Israel will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground. New Suggestion Last week, the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has attacked France's call for recognizing the Palestinian state, stating that if it adopted such an outcome, it could 'carve out a piece of the French Riviera' and create one, according to Al-Arabiya. 'If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I've got a suggestion for them — carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state. They are welcome to do that, but they are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation,' Huckabee said. Related Topics: Italian Puglia Region Cuts Ties with Israel over Gaza Genocide Catalonia Closes its Trade Office in Tel Aviv over Gaza Genocide Horror Movies Cannot Fictionalize Genocide in Gaza, Says American Doctor Short link : Post Views: 1
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Swedish Court Convicts One Man of ISIS Membership, Acquits Three
A Swedish appeals court on Thursday found one man guilty of being a member of a terrorism organization for swearing loyalty to ISIS, upholding the verdict of a lower court, while the conviction of three others were overturned. Sweden's security services arrested the men last year and prosecutors later charged them with being members of a terrorism organization between September 2023 and March 2024. But the Svea Appeals Court said in a statement on Thursday it does not consider it proven that the three now acquitted acted on behalf of ISIS. "However, the person who swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS is also convicted in the Court of Appeal," it said. All four men had pleaded not guilty.
