Al-qaida

Bombing kills co-founder of Syria's main al-Qaida-linked group Nusra Front

A suicide bomber set off his explosives late on Thursday in northwestern Syria, killing the co-founder of the country's main al-Qaida-linked group that controls much of the northwest, a war monitor said. Some activists disputed the source of the explosion, saying instead that a remotely detonated bomb killed Abu Maria al-Qahtani, whose real name was Maysara al-Jubouri. Al-Qahtani co-founded the Nusra Front in Syria, a militant group that later renamed itself Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and claimed it had severed ties with al-Qaida. The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled. According to the Britain-based Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor with a network of activists on the ground, the bomber entered al-Qahtani's guesthouse in the town of Sarmada in Idlib province late in the evening and detonated his explosives. The small enclave of northwestern Syria is the country's last rebel-held territory. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham controls the northwestern Idlib province while

Updated On : 05 Apr 2024 | 6:35 AM IST

Niger's junta says US military presence in country is no longer justified

Niger's junta said on Saturday the US military presence in the country is no longer justified, making the announcement on state television after holding high-level talks with US diplomatic and military officials this week. Niger plays a central role in the US military's operations in Africa's Sahel region and is home to a major airbase. The US is concerned about the spread of jihadist violence in the region, where local groups have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist groups. In reading the statement, the junta's spokesman, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, stopped short of saying US forces should leave. He said Niger was suspending military cooperation with Washington and added that US flights over the country's territory in recent weeks were illegal. The US military in recent years began operating a major airbase in the Niger city of Agadez, some 920 kilometers (550 miles) from the capital of Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and oth

Updated On : 17 Mar 2024 | 7:03 AM IST

US carried out airstrikes in Somalia that killed 3 al-Qaida militants

The US military said on Tuesday that it conducted airstrikes in Somalia over the weekend that killed three al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants and that there were no civilian casualties. The US Africa Command, based in Stuttgart Germany, said in a statement that the strikes were done at the request of Somalia's government, and they were carried out in a remote area about 35 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of port city Kismayo on Sunday. The statement didn't give the identity of those targeted. There was no immediate response from al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is the largest and most active al-Qaida network in the world and has proved both its will and capability to attack US forces and threaten Washington's security interests, the statement said. The militants have been waging a 16-year-old insurgency against the weak, Western-backed Somali government, which is being bolstered by African Union peacekeeping troops. The militants have carried out large-scale extremist attacks in neighbourin