The Islamic State, (ISIS) has vowed to launch terrorist attacks on Champions League games holding this week, according to a reports on the Daily Mail.
However, authorities in Madrid have said that they are aware of the threat and on red alert
The Al Azaim Foundation, a media channel that is responsible for spreading messages from ISIS, threatened an attack on all four venues for this week’s quarter-finals.
The group shared an image threatening to attack the Parc des Princes, the Santiago Bernabeu, the Metropolitan and the Emirates – which will host Arsenal v Bayern Munich tonight – with a message reading: “Kill them all.”
The authorities in Madrid have activated all of their “response systems” following the supposed terrorist threat, according to reports in Spain.
Season 2023/24 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg matches will hold this week with Atletico Madrid facing Borrussia Dortmund in Spain, Arsenal will trade tackles with Bayern Munich at the Emirate in England, PSG will slug it out with Barcelona in at Parc de Princess in France while Real Madrid and Manchester City will battle it out at the Bernabeu in Spain.
A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, granted an interim order sought by the Department of State Service (DSS) to detain Emmanuel Osase, a Nigerian suspected to be a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for 60 days.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order after counsel for the DSS, A.A. Ugee, moved the ex-parte motion to the effect.
When the matter was called, Ugee informed the court of the application.
He said the motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/409/2024 was brought pursuant to Section 66(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
He prayed the court for an order enabling the security outfit to detain Osase for 60 days pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Justice Ekwo, who granted the application, adjourned until June 3 for report
Osase, who was arrested on March 11, was accused of propagating the messages of the terrorist group, opposing democratic system of government in Nigeria and calling for terrorists attacks on Nigeria and it symbols of sovereignty.
In affidavit dated March 27 and deposed to by Ahmad Abubakar, a DSS operative, attached to the Legal Service Department, National Headquarters, Abuja, he averred that the release of the suspect could jeopardise investigation.
He said that Osase was arrested by a team of DSS “for alleged membership and propagation of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist messages, including opposition to Democratic System of Government and the call for staging terrorists attacks against Nigeria State and its symbols of sovereignty;”
Abubakar stated that Osase was jailed five years for terrorism-related offences in France and was deported after the completion of his sentence.
He said that from the service’s preliminary investigation, Osase, who is an ex-convict, still engaged in terrorist activities which previously led to his conviction in France.
He said Osase appeared not to have renounced his terrorist ideologies, “as he continues to engage with the proscribed pro-ISIS online media group known as al-Alawn Media Foundation, whose main objectives is the creation and dissemination of terrorist content and the promotion of terrorist attacks against democratic systems of government such as Nigeria and the western governments, including their interests across the globe.”
He said the suspect, who was born in the Federal Capital Territory, “left Nigeria for France and never returned to Nigeria until his deportation after completion of five years jail term for acts of terrorism and attempt to join the Islamic State (IS) linked terrorist group, Friqat Al-Ghuraba (Group of Foreigners) in Syria.”
Abubakar said his activities constituted a potent threat to national security and corporate existence of Nigeria.
He said there was need for a thorough investigation of the suspect to ensure that he did not pose any security threat to Nigeria or the world at large.
According to him, the respondent is helping with vital Information that will lead to the arrest of other members who are still at large.
He said it would be in the interest of justice and national security to grant the application.
The mastermind of the Moscow Massacre that killed over 60 persons with many still critically injured have owned up.
An Islamic State militant group in Iraq and al-Sham, popularly known as ISIS has claimed responsibility for the heinous mass shooting that happened near Moscow, the capital of Russia.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that gunmen in camouflage invaded a concert venue complex near Moscow Friday and opened fire on unsuspecting citizens killing many Russian citizen.
A viral video footage from the Crocus City Hall, currently circulating on social media shows the vast complex, which is home to both the music hall and a shopping centre, on fire with smoke billowing into the air.
According to some Russian investigators the total number of casualties is way more than 60, saying about 145 people were seriously wounded.
About 60 of those hospitalized were in critical condition, according to the Russian health officials.
Claiming responsibility for the attack, ISIS’s Amaq agency said on Telegram that its fighters invaded the concert hall, gunned down scores and injured many before returning to base.
Islamic State said its fighters attacked on the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely.”
However, the statement didn’t reveal vital information why the heinous crime was carried out.
The national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been slammed for giving “terrorist” Shamima Begum a podcast in which she says “I’m so much more than ISIS”.
In the 10-part podcast, the former jihadi bride speaks about joining the bloodthirsty terror group, that beheaded British captives.
The now 23-year-old Begum now lives in a refugee camp after she travelled from her home in east London aged 15 with two friends.
But already the podcast has sparked outrage with one critic accusing the BBC of “wasting” licence payers’ money on giving a platform to someone “who accepts she joined a terror group”.
Another said: “If you join a terror group that has committed atrocities such as mass killings, abductions and beheadings, then you are a terrorist.”
Commentator Wasiq Wasiq also questioned why Begum was given a platform “while the victims of grooming gangs are still trying to be heard and get justice”.
Shamima Begum
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that in the podcast, Begum told investigative journalist, Josh Baker, about travelling to Syria to join the crazed jihadis, infamous for their brutality.
Begum accepts she joined a terrorist group and admits the public see her “as a danger, as a risk, as a potential risk to them, to their safety, to their way of living”.
But she insists: “I’m not this person that they think I am being perceived as in the media, you know I’m just so much more than ISIS and I’m so much more than everything I’ve been through.
“I’ve always been a more secluded person. That’s why it’s so hard the way my life has turned out being all over the media because I’m not a person that likes a lot of attention on me.”
Begum also talks about being given detailed instructions by ISIS including how to avoid detection during the journey.
She says she stuffed her suitcase with her favourite chocolate because she feared she wouldn’t be able to get hold of any once she was in the Middle East.
“Mint Aero, mint chocolate, like a lot,” she says.
“You can find a lot of things in this country but you cannot find mint chocolate. It’s a tragedy. Tragedy.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “This is not a platform for Shamima Begum to give her unchallenged story.
“This is a robust, public interest investigation in which Josh Baker has forensically examined who she really is and what she really did.
“We’d also encourage people to listen to the podcast and make up their own mind.”
Begum is currently in the Al-Roj prison camp in northern Syria, run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, which she moans is “worse than a prison”.
She is fighting the Home Office’s decision to remove her British citizenship.
After travelling to Syria, Begum wed an ISIS fighter and had three children, who have all since died.
But after the evil regime collapsed, she ended up in a refugee camp.
And soon after, then Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, stripped her of her UK citizenship to stop her from ever coming back.
Begum has previously told how she had no regrets about joining the death cult and was not fazed by seeing discarded heads in bins.
She also told how she had sewn ISIS bombers into their suicide vests.
But she insists she had changed – claiming she was “young and naïve” when she decided to leave the UK and join ISIS.
ISIS has acknowledged the death of its leader, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al- Qurayshi announced his successor.
The terrorist group said on Wednesday that its leader was killed while “struggling with the enemies of God”.
The group’s media affiliate al-Furqan published an audio message by an ISIS spokesman announcing the death of its leader who was appointed in March, CNN reports.
ISIS also confirmed Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al- Qurayshi’s successor on Wednesday.
“I announce and mourn for the Islamic state and the fighters of almighty Islamic state, (the absence) of the Amir of believers and the Calipha of the Muslims Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al- Qurayshi … he was killed while struggling against the enemies’ of God,” spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajer said in the message released Wednesday.
ISIS did not state where its leader was killed and who carried out the killing.
The group announced his successor, who goes by Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi. Little is known about him, but the group described him as an “old fighter” without mentioning any further details.
The deceased leader was appointed by ISIS in March 2022 after US President Joe Biden announced the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a military operation in the northwest of Syria.
An audio message posted online had said Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was now “caliph”, without providing any further details about his identity.
But US said the Iraqi jihadist blew himself up, killing his family, during a special forces raid on his hideout in north-western Syria on 3 February.
Three persons, who allegedly fed a British botanist couple’s bodies to crocodiles in South Africa have been accused of having suspected links to ISIS.
This was after detectives reportedly found ISIS pamphlets and a flag at the accused’s house at the time of the arrest after Rod Saunders and his wife Rachel were brutally murdered and fed to crocodiles in South Africa.
Rod Saunders, 74 and his wife Rachel, 63, were brutally killed four years ago as they searched for wild seeds in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province for online business.
The internationally renowned botanists were interviewed by BBC TV presenter, Nick Bailey, for an episode of Gardeners’ World as they searched the Drakensberg Mountain region for rare Gladioli flower seeds.
A selfie taken by Mr Bailey and posted on his Twitter account as well as a photo taken by producer Robin Matthews during filming were believed to be the last photos taken of them alive.
Court proceedings began this week against their alleged killers, Sayfudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, 39, his partner Fatima Bibi Patel, 28, and their lodger at the time Mussa Ahmad Jackson, 35.
The trio denies all charges of kidnapping, robbery, murder and theft.
Some say Mr Del Vecchio and his Ms Patel, the daughter of a Muslim cleric, have links to ISIS.
They were previously charged with contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, but this has since been dropped.
Del Vecchio and Mussa were transferred to Ebongweni maximum security prison in Kokstad in 2020 after prison officials said they had uncovered a plot that would jeopardize Westville prison where they were initially held.
Rod and Rachel Saunders with the BBC’s Nick Bailey days before they were murdered and fed to crocodiles.
WhatsApp communications were discovered between the accused pair.
They allegedly said they were planning to “kill the kuffar and abduct their alias, to destroy infrastructure and to put fear in the heart of the kuffar.”
Kuffar means disbeliever or infidel in Arabic.
They also described the couple as “prey” who were ripe for a good “hunt”.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that when they were initially charged with terrorism, the British Foreign Office issued a warning about a possible terrorism threat in South Africa.
Detectives reportedly found Islamic State pamphlets and a flag at the accused’s house at the time of the arrest.
They were also allegedly found to be affiliated with Farhad Hoomer, who is the alleged mastermind behind the 2018 Verulam mosque attack.
“We have been coming to Drakensberg since we were 16 and I’ve always had a passion for high-altitude grassland flora,” Mr Saunders said to BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Nick Bailey just days before his tragic death.
They last made contact with employees of their company on February 8, saying they planned to camp in Ngoye Forest Reserve.
It was gathered that they spent one night in the forest before being kidnapped, then at some point between February 10 and 15, were beaten to death before being thrown into the Tugela river, the court has been told.
The alleged killers used the couple’s Land Cruiser and bank cards to draw out £37,000 in cash.
Blood from Ms Saunders was found in the vehicle’s boot.
Lawyers for the accused say police have exaggerated the links to the Islamic State.
The trial was adjourned yesterday until October 25.
A U.S. federal court has sentenced one of the three Britons accused of operating a brutal ISIS hostage-taking scheme, El Shafee Elsheikh, to eight life sentences after he was convicted in April for his role in the plot which led to the deaths of four Americans.
A U.S. federal court has sentenced one of the three British men accused of operating a brutal ISIS hostage-taking scheme, El Shafee Elsheikh, to eight life sentences after he was convicted in April for his role in the plot which led to the deaths of four Americans. TheNewsGuru.com reports that the eight life sentences, one for each count, are to be served concurrently and there is no parole in the federal system. Elsheikh, 34, the highest ranking ISIS fighter to face a U.S. jury trial, plans to appeal; his lawyer says it will likely be on grounds of ineffective counsel. He was found guilty on eight charges, including four counts of hostage-taking resulting in death, murder conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
reports that the eight life sentences, one for each count, are to be served concurrently and there is no parole in the federal system.
Elsheikh, 34, the highest ranking ISIS fighter to face a U.S. jury trial, plans to appeal; his lawyer says it will likely be on grounds of ineffective counsel.
He was found guilty on eight charges, including four counts of hostage-taking resulting in death, murder conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
Elsheikh was accused of kidnapping and murdering freelance journalist, James Foley, as well as participating in the detention and murder of three other Americans.
The sentencing of Elsheikh comes on the eighth anniversary of Foley’s murder which was broadcast across the world in a chilling beheading video by ISIS. Elsheikh was also convicted and sentenced for the kidnapping and murder of journalist Steven Sotloff, human rights activist Kayla Mueller and aid worker Peter Kassig.
El Shafee Elsheikh
Elsheikh, who was captured in Syria in 2018 alongside fellow “Beatle” Alexanda Kotey, was described by prosecutors at his sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia as the most notorious, highest-ranking member of ISIS to face trial in the U.S.
The foursome had held hostage 26 Westerners and murdered four Americans and several British and Japanese nationals in Syria.
Kotey was sentenced to life in prison in April.
Judge T.S. Ellis on Friday described the crimes as horrendous, noting Elsheikh’s involvement in the sexual abuse of Mueller, his decision to provide false testimony to law enforcement and his role as a leader of the group.
Due to a prior agreement with the United Kingdom, neither Elsheikh nor Kotey faced the death penalty. Another member of the group, Mohammed Emwazi, was killed in a drone strike in Syria in 2016. A fourth member, Aine Lesley Davis, was arrested in Turkey and extradited earlier this year to the United Kingdom to face terrorism charges.
Following the sentencing, Elsheikh immediately filed an appeal with the court citing ineffective council. Ellis rebutted to the defense, “I think you have been diligent.”
Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, addressed Elsheikh directly during her testimony Friday, saying, “Love is so much stronger than hatred. I pity you Elsheikh.”
She told reporters Friday that more than 67 U.S. nationals are currently detained and held hostage abroad.
Foley said in an appeal to President Joe Biden, “I urgently call on our President Biden to employ our shrewdest negotiation to quickly bring these innocent Americans home, lest they die in captivity as our sons and daughter did.”
Diane Foley, the mother of James Foley, center, accompanied by Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of Kayla Mueller, speaks to members of the media after the sentencing of El Shafee Elsheikh at the District Courthouse in Alexandria,
After the death of her son, Foley founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for Americans that have been held hostage abroad and promotes the safety of journalists worldwide.
She added, “Let this sentencing make clear to all who dared to kidnap, torture or kill any American citizen abroad. That U.S. justice will find you wherever you are, and that our government will hold you accountable for your crimes against our citizens.”
Marsha and Carl Mueller, the parents of Kayla Mueller, told reporters Friday that they have not given up looking for their daughter’s remains. The couple is working with private entities to try to find Kayla and learn exactly what happened to their daughter. They told reporters they met with FBI Director Christopher Wray who told them, “we are not going to stop until we find Kayla.”
The 26-year-old was on a humanitarian mission in Turkey in August 2013 when ISIS kidnapped her after she crossed the Syrian border to visit a hospital. In February 2015, U.S. officials confirmed that she died while in ISIS custody.
Elsheikh declined to speak at Friday’s sentencing. Marsha Mueller told reporters, “I was hoping he would be but I wasn’t shocked that he is going to appeal.”
Mueller said of Elsheikh, “He’s obviously cold with no remorse throughout the whole trial and I still think he believes he was doing the right thing.”
Both families said they met with Kotey. Marsha Mueller told reporters Kotey” did articulate some remorse” and that she was grateful for that.
Foley stressed the need for the government to act swiftly in cases in cases where Americans are held, to avoid making the process of bringing them home more complicated.
Mueller had tough words for the Obama administration who he said had “every opportunity to bring [Kayla] home” during the 18 months she was reportedly held captive.
“They definitely have learned their lesson and our children was the cost of that and hopefully, in the future, our government will do like so many others did, and get their people home. Not leave them in there for 18 months,” Mueller added.
Between June 1- 6 2022, ISIS has claimed responsibility for at least 10 attacks in Borno, Kogi, Yobe states, leading to increased insecurity in Nigeria’s Northeast and Northcentral.
Nigeria is now arguably the most active hub for the Islamic State (ISIS) military operations worldwide, accounting for 41 per cent of claimed attacks around the globe, new report has revealed.
The Nigerian Army said it successfully neutralized several Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists after a hot pursuit on Monday June 6, along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road in Goni Masari, with support from the Nigerian Air Force.
“Gallant Troops of 29 Brigade today 6 June 2022 neutralized several BHT/ISWAP Terrorists who blocked Maiduguri-Damaturu Road in Goni Masari. After a hot pursuit, and guidance from the @NigAirForce,” the Army said via twitter.
The face-off comes barely a day after gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State South West Nigeria, killing at least 50 persons, eyewitnesses have alleged. No group has claimed responsibility for the unprovoked attack and arrests have not been made by the police.
According to analysis by an American terrorism consultant, Evan Kohlmann, the total number of claimed ISIS attacks in Nigeria increased from 47 in February to 56 in March, 2022, making it the most targeted country for ISIS attacks on a month-to-month period,
Examining key trends, statistics, and geographic locations of attacks claimed by ISIS in March 2022, Kohlmann noted that Nigeria led the list of countries most targeted with 41 per cent of all attacks, while Iraq followed with a distant 21 per cent.
Other African countries that have been targets of ISIS attacks include: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Mali and Mozambique.
“The list of specific locations most frequently targeted in February was topped, for the second month in a row, by the town of Mallamfatori in far northeastern Nigeria (nine per cent), the Nigerian town of Damboa (four per cent), the Nigerian town of Sabon Gari ( four per cent), and the Iraqi town of Daquq (four per cent).
“Ninety-six per cent of claimed ISIS attacks in Nigeria for the period March 2022 were in the country’s northeastern Borno State. Forty-three per cent of claimed ISIS attacks in Nigeria during March 2022 consisted primarily of IED ambushes, making it the most common form of attack,” the terrorism consultant who has worked for the FBI and other governmental organizations noted.
Since the death of Boko Haram terrorist group leader Abubakar Shekau during an invasion by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which had pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2015, the later has been consolidating its grip on new rural areas in Nigeria’s central and northeast regions.
Between June 1- 6 2022, ISIS has claimed responsibility for at least 10 attacks in Borno, Kogi, Yobe states, Northeast and Northcentral Nigeria.
These include attacks targeting a Nigerian army post in Goniri, Yobe State and in Marte, Mairi, Fish Dam in Borno State. The group also claimed responsibility for a IED attack targeting a Nigerian army patrol on the road linking the towns of Wajiroko – Damboa and Katafila – Mararaba in Borno State.
ISIS claimed it was behind the bombing of a party for “Christian infidels” near the city of Okene in Kogi state, which allegedly inflicted 20 casualties, and another bomb attack inside a bar in the town of Kabba, which allegedly wounded 12 persons.
This disturbing trend poses a serious threat to security not only in Nigeria, but also neighbouring regions in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. So far, joint regional military efforts have fallen short of reversing ISIS’ advances.
The United States of America (USA) has said it will not pay the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) a promised $7 million bounty for killing Abubakar Shekau.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the United States Department Rewards for Justice Program made this known via Twitter on Friday.
“News reports today indicate that Boko Haram terrorist Abubakar Shekau blew himself up in a confrontation with ISIS affiliates.
“Hey, ISIS guys. To clarify: no – you are not eligible for the reward for information on his identity or location. That’s not how the program works,” the US Department Rewards for Justice Program tweeted.
News reports today indicate that Boko Haram terrorist Abubakar Shekau blew himself up in a confrontation with ISIS affiliates.
Hey, ISIS guys. To clarify: no – you are not eligible for the reward for information on his identity or location. That's not how the program works. pic.twitter.com/rFbHzb5Oou
TNG reports Shekau is the leader of Jama’atu Ahl as-Sunnah il-Da’awati wal-Jihad, more commonly known as Boko Haram.
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden,” is a Nigeria-based terrorist organization that seeks to overthrow the current Nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law.
The group has existed in various forms since the late 1990s. There are reported communications, training, and weapons links between Boko Haram, al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which may strengthen Boko Haram’s capacity to conduct terrorist attacks.
Shekau was previously the group’s second-in-command. In July 2010, Shekau publicly claimed leadership of Boko Haram and threatened to attack Western interests in Nigeria.
Later that month, Shekau issued a second statement expressing solidarity with al-Qaida and threatening the United States. Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram’s operational capabilities grew.
The group set off its first vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) in June 2011, and has increasingly utilized IEDs in attacks against soft targets.
Boko Haram’s August 26, 2011 vehicle-bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria marked the group’s first lethal operation against Western interests. At least 23 people were killed, and 80 more were injured, in the attack. A purported Boko Haram spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack and promised future targeting of U.S. and Nigerian government interests.
On May 1, 2012, less than one week after the group bombed a Nigerian newspaper building in Abuja, Boko Haram issued a video statement threatening more attacks on local and international news outlets, including the Voice of America and Sahara Reporters, a New York-based media service.
Under Shekau’s leadership Boko Haram has continually targeted young children. On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped close to 300 girls from their school in northern Nigeria. In a video message released three weeks later, Shekau claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, calling the girls slaves and threatening to sell them in the market.
On June 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of State designated Shekau a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, and placed a $7 million bounty on him.
However, an intelligence report emerged on Thursday that the Boko Haram leader reportedly died following alleged invasion of the terror group’s stronghold in the Sambisa forest area by a column of ISWAP fighters.
ISWAP, which had broken away from the Shekau-led Boko Haram faction in 2016 after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), raided the group’s hideout using multiple gun trucks.
Shekau’s enclave was tracked down by ISWAP using its forces based in the Timbuktu Triangle. His fighters were killed in the process, followed by a long gunfire exchange between the invading group and Shekau’s bodyguards, according to intelligence reports.
It was gathered that after his bodyguards were subdued, Shekau surrendered and engaged in an hours-long meeting with the ISWAP fighters.
During the parley, he was asked to voluntarily relinquish power and order his fighters in other areas to declare bai’a (allegiance) to ISWAP’s authority. They had expected Shekau to issue a statement.
Sources within the insurgency, however, said that Shekau who secretly had a suicide vest on eventually blew himself up alongside everyone present during the negotiations.
The identities of the people within ISWAP’s leadership who lost their lives to the explosion remain unclear.
TNG reports Shekau had been the leader of Boko Haram since 2009 following the death of the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf. He had been rumoured to have been killed at least four times between July 2009 and August 2015.
In August 2016, the Nigerian Air Force claimed he had been “fatally wounded” by military bombardments, but the terror group released a video only a month later showing he was alive and in good health.
The Defence Headquarters could not confirm the killing of Shekau, Nigeria’s most wanted terrorist as at the time of filing this report.
Acting Director Defence Media Operations, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, said the military cannot confirm the development yet.
The DHQ had while defending repeated claims of killing of Shekau by troops, explained that ‘Shekau’ is a mere title bestowed on the leader of the group and not a name of an individual.
Meanwhile, Nigerian military has placed all Borno State Commands of the Nigerian Army and Air Force on alert, over possible movement of dislodged insurgents.
U.S. Special Operations forces believe they killed ISIS’ “second in command” in an operation inside Syria, according to a senior defense official.
Haji Imam, whose real name is said to be Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, is a senior religious leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State and had been considered to be next in line to succeed “caliph” Omar al-Baghdadi, though some ISIS watchers say his Turkoman background ruled that out.
The official says U.S. forces killed a high-ranking official—who they believe to be Haji Imam—in a raid on his vehicle, after they tracked him for several days.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford will announce the operation this morning at the Pentagon.
Carter will also confirm the reported killing of ISIS’s “minister of war” in a strike this month. Tarkhan Batirashvili, better known as Omar al-Shishani or “Omar the Chechen,” was reported to be badly wounded by an airstrike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
That makes two major hits by the U.S. special operators inside Syria, and a fiery coalition riposte to the ISIS-claimed attacks in Belgium on Tuesday that claimed the lives of 31 people, including two Americans. Arrests continued across Belgium and also in France in the wake of the attacks, unearthing a network of European citizens who are part of what Belgian officials say is a wider network than they originally believed was linked to the Paris attacks of last November that claimed 130 lives.
Around 50 special operators from the Joint Special Operations Command are operating throughout northern Syria, helping guide local forces’ military movements, teaching them how to share intelligence, and call in airstrikes that have become increasingly more effective, and also carrying out a number of their own mostly undisclosed operations to degrade the ISIS network, U.S. military officials said, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to describe the actions publicly.
A Pentagon spokesman reached Friday morning declined to comment.
