Mozambique, however, claims the fighting is still ongoing for control over the city. If its capture is confirmed, this is the second major town to fall under the control of the Islamic State’s local wing.
Almost 300 people have been killed in a series of mass killings in Niger and on a military position inside Mali. The Islamic State has officially claimed just one of the attacks, but it is believed to have carried out all of the massacres.
Both wings collectively represent the Islamic State’s Central African Province, which the UN recently noted as one of the Islamic State’s most ‘dependable’ affiliates.
In an interview with the Islamic State’s Al-Naba newsletter, Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, attempts to paint al Qaeda’s efforts in the region as rife with internal squabbles and disunity.
At least 1,300 inmates were freed in an operation conducted by the Allied Democratic Forces, the Islamic State’s local affiliate.
Edmund Fitton-Brown joins hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio to discuss his work for the United Nations Security Council.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a prison assault in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. The facility reportedly holds about 1,500 inmates. It’s not clear how many were freed.
Yesterday’s drone strike was the first US airstrike on the Islamic State in Somalia this year.
