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An armored vehicle of Nigerian Security Forces drives by newly built homes, ahead of the community re-opening ceremony which was destroyed by Boko Haram armed militants in 2015, in Ngarannam, Borno State, Nigeria, October 21, 2022.

REUTERS/Christophe Van Der Perre

Jihadist violence surges in Nigeria as terror networks expand

There has been a rise in attacks in northeastern Nigeria by Boko Haram and a rival group called the Islamic State West Africa Province, spurring concerns that jihadists might be making a strong return in the region. At least 22 people were killed in attacks over the weekend in the northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno, and another 26 died on Monday when a bomb exploded in two vehicles in Borno.

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Puntland Security Forces parade newly trained soldiers and equipment to combat ISIS in Bosasso, Bari Region, Puntland region, Somalia, on Jan. 30, 2025.

REUTERS/Feisal Omar

US airstrikes target Islamic State stronghold in Somalia

US airstrikes in Somalia’s northern Puntland region have reportedly killed key figures in the Islamic State group, aka IS. US President Donald Trump announced the strikes in the Golis mountains on Truth Social Saturday. “These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies … The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians,” he wrote.
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Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks to the media in December 2024.

REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Syria’s leader declared president, constitution scrapped

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was on Wednesday declared president by a group of top military commanders.

The current constitution was suspended, and al-Sharaa was authorized to form a “temporary” legislative council to govern during a transitional period before elections are held.

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A member of the National Guard Military Police stands in the area where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 2, 2025.

REUTERS/Octavio Jones

Deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas open new year

The US opened in the New Year with a pair of deadly attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Early on Jan. 1, 14 people were killed and more than two dozen were injured after a pickup truck ran down a crowd in Bourbon Street. The FBI is treating the incident as a terror attack and has identified the suspect, who was shot dead by police, as Texas Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar. Before the attack, Jabbar posted on social media saying he had joined Islamic State; investigators found the flag of the terror organization in the truck and now believe that Jabbar acted alone.

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A view down Bourbon Street shows a crashed white pickup truck after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in New Orleans.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters

Terrorist targets New Orleans in vehicle attack

New Orleans is in mourning after a man drove a rented pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd early Wednesday, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old realtor and Army veteran from Texas, plowed into revelers and fired on police before being killed. Officials are calling the incident a terrorist attack despite an earlier statement to the contrary, provoking criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who called the attack ”pure evil” and linked it to rising crime and illegal immigration, even though Jabbar was born in the US. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said there was “no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities.”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin lights a candle in memory of the victims of the Crocus City Hall attack, on the day of national mourning in a church at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia March 24, 2024.

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

Moscow mourns amid international blame game

President Vladimir Putin declared Sunday a national day of mourning for the 137 people killed at the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow on Friday. Several gunmen opened fire at the popular music venue late Friday, injuring another 180 and leaving more than a third of the building on fire. Crews are still sifting through the debris for bodies.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which came just weeks after Washington warned of possible terrorism at large venues in the Moscow area, which Putin notably ridiculed as fearmongering.

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking during a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassim Soleimani, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 3, 2024.

Morteza Nikoubazl/REUTERS

Islamic State group spoils efforts to blame Israel for deadly Iran blasts

Just as Iranian hardliners sought to pin blame on Israel for Wednesday’s deadly attack in the Islamic Republic, the worst since 1979, the Islamic State group swooped in and claimed responsibility.

On Thursday, the militant group said two of its suicide bombers carried out the Kerman attack, which killed at least 89 people and injured roughly 280 near the grave of Qassim Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike four years ago. Islamic State group, a Sunni terror organization, has also been linked to past terror attacks in Iran, a Shiite-majority country.

Security gaps. The attack was a “massive security failure” for Tehran, and it will be “under intense pressure to respond” to restore faith in its ability to protect the public, says Gregory Brew, an expert on Iran at Eurasia Group.

“There is likely to be a thorough national investigation and a wave of arrests, coupled with action against terrorist groups active inside Iran, with potential spillover into Afghanistan or Syria, where ISIS and its affiliates are known to be active,” Brew adds.

A region on edge. The fatal explosions in Kerman couldn’t have come at a more precarious time. The brutal Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has ratcheted up tensions across the region – particularly between the Jewish state and other Iranian proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon. There are growing concerns that the Middle East will soon face a broader, messier conflict.

But the Iranian government’s top priority is survival, so it isn’t particularly interested in becoming entangled in such a fight. And though Islamic State claiming responsibility for the attack “likely won’t stop figures in Iran’s political spectrum from implying an Israeli connection,” Tehran’s desire to avoid a regional conflict means it’s unlikely to formally blame Israel, says Brew.

“Escalation, when it comes, is likely to come through conflict between Israel and the US and Iran's proxies, rather than against Iran itself,” says Brew.

Residents use vehicles to leave the city of Stepanakert following a military operation conducted by Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh

Reuters

Hard Numbers: Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh, Terrorists detained in Tehran, Philippines condemns China's coastguard, Assefa races past records

120,000: The leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh announced that 120,000 Armenians will leave Azerbaijan for Armenia, after their fighters were forced to accept a ceasefire last week by the Azerbaijani military. While Azerbaijan has promised to guarantee Armenian rights as the region is integrated, most do not accept this claim.

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