&w=3840&q=100)
Crackdown on Islamic State terrorists, 82 Somalia affiliate operatives arrested in Ethiopia: Official media
The undated photograph shows an Islamic State (Isis) terrorist holding a gun and another holding the group's flag. (Representative Photograph, Credit: Reuters)
Ethiopia has arrested dozens of suspected Islamic State militants, who it claimed have been trained and deployed to carry out operations across the country, the state-affiliated Fana broadcaster reported.
The 82 suspects were part of Islamic State's Somalia affiliate, which operates in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to a statement by the National Intelligence Security Services which was shared with Fana.
The Islamic State faction in Somalia has become an increasingly important part of its parent organisation's worldwide network in recent years.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'NISS has been closely monitoring the group's cross-border infiltration strategies and its efforts to establish sleeper cells in Ethiopia,' Fana reported late on Tuesday.
With an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters, Islamic State's Somalia wing has grown in recent years thanks to an influx of foreign fighters and increasing revenues. But it is still much smaller than al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The US military has carried out periodic air strikes against the group for years and recently intensified the strikes since President Donald Trump took office.
Puntland government forces have captured large portions of territory from IS since announcing a major offensive against them in December.
(This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, the copy has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Comply with Prez's order': Blackburn slams Tennessee colleges for hiding DEI behind coded language
During a Senate Judiciary hearing focused on ending DEI, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) accused Tennessee universities of disguising their DEI programs by using coded or rebranded language. Her remarks came as President Donald Trump has vowed to bring the country together by eliminating DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives across all institutions, from federal agencies to college campuses. Show more Show less


Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Countries will face tariffs ranging from 15% to 50%: Donald Trump
Trump's comment declaring that the tariffs would begin at 15% represented the latest twist in his effort to impose duties on nearly every US trading partner, and the latest indication that Trump was looking to more aggressively impose the levies on exports from countries outside the small group that so far has been able to broker trade frameworks with Washington. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested that he would not go below 15% as he sets so-called reciprocal tariff rates ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline, an indication that the floor for the increased levies was rising."We'll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15% and 50%," Trump said Wednesday at an AI summit in Washington. "A couple of - we have 50 because we haven't been getting along with those countries too well."Trump's comment declaring that the tariffs would begin at 15% represented the latest twist in his effort to impose duties on nearly every US trading partner, and the latest indication that Trump was looking to more aggressively impose the levies on exports from countries outside the small group that so far has been able to broker trade frameworks with earlier this month said that more than 150 countries would receive a letter including a tariff rate of "probably 10 or 15%, we haven't decided yet." Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News on Sunday that small countries including "the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa" would have a baseline tariff of 10%. And at the first announcement of the tariffs in April, Trump unveiled a universal tariff of 10% on nearly every Trump and his advisers initially expressed hopes of securing multiple deals, the president has been touting the tariff letters themselves as "deals" and suggesting that he is uninterested in back-and-forth negotiations. Still, he has left the door open for countries to make agreements that could lower those rates.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
America's changing stages of capitalism impacted the world — Donald Trump now wants to disrupt the old economic order: Jonathan Levy
Synopsis Professor Jonathan Levy discusses the evolution of American capitalism. He identifies distinct ages, from commerce to chaos. Donald Trump is seen as a disruptive force, potentially dismantling the existing economic order. The US questions its global economic relationships. Wealth inequality is a key concern. Public debt is an issue, especially with investments not geared towards a better fiscal future.