Islamic extremists

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Its Grip Weakening, Boko Haram Unleashes New Wave of Horror

There have been 3 attacks in a week; dozens killed Saturday

(Newser) - Boko Haram stormed homes in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday night, killing dozens of people that included sleeping children, the latest in a recent spate of horrific attacks by the Islamic extremist group. The killings happened near Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno Province, the New York Times reports, noting... More »

Muslims Save Christians in Kenya Bus Attack

They hid, disguised fellow passengers from al-Shabab

(Newser) - Al-Shabab militants attacked a bus in Kenya on Monday but were thwarted by Muslims who protected Christians on board. Officials say the militants stopped a bus carrying more than 100 people from Nairobi to Mandera, near the border with Somalia and Ethiopia. Buses travel with police escorts because the route... More »

Alleged Paris Mastermind's Family Wanted Him Dead

Abdelhamid Abaaoud recruited his 13-year-old brother to join jihad

(Newser) - When the alleged mastermind of the Paris terror attacks was thought to have been killed in Syria a year ago while fighting for ISIS, his family prayed that it was true. Abdelhamid Abaaoud —who attended an exclusive Catholic school in Brussels before dropping out of secondary school and spending... More »

France: Man's Blunder Thwarted Church Attack

Cops found plans after suspect accidentally shot himself

(Newser) - A terrorist attack on one or more churches in Paris may only have been thwarted because the suspect couldn't handle a gun, according to French authorities. The country's interior minister says a 24-year-old Algerian national was arrested on Sunday after he apparently shot himself and called for an... More »

Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance to ISIS

Extremist group tweets allegiance to 'Caliph of the Muslims'

(Newser) - Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram Islamic extremists have pledged formal allegiance to the Islamic State group, in a message allegedly by a Nigerian insurgent leader posted on Twitter and reported by the SITE Intelligence monitoring service. The unverified pledge posted today comes as the Nigerian militants reportedly are massing in... More »

After a Decade, Baghdad Curfew Gets Lifted

But violence continues, with bombs killing at least 40 today

(Newser) - Baghdad's decade-old nightly curfew ended after midnight local time, hours after bombs exploded in and around the Iraqi capital, killing at least 40 people in a stark warning of the dangers still ahead in this country under attack by ISIS. The deadliest of today's bombings happened in the... More »

Nigeria Postpones Elections Amid Boko Haram Crisis

Officials say voters' safety can't be ensured on original date of Feb. 14

(Newser) - Nigeria is postponing presidential and legislative elections until March 28 because security forces fighting an Islamic extremist uprising cannot ensure voters' safety around the country, the electoral commission announced today, a week before the vote was scheduled to occur. Millions could be disenfranchised if voting originally scheduled for Feb. 14... More »

Muslim Worker 'Saved Lives' at Kosher-Store Siege

Lassana Bathily hid them in a freezer before helping police

(Newser) - French media are praising a Muslim worker who apparently saved several people during the siege of a kosher grocery store in Paris yesterday, the Huffington Post reports. According to RTL and Le Parisien , Lassana Bathily ushered several customers into a freezer when terrorists seized the Hyper Cacher store. "I... More »

Non-Muslims Singled Out, Massacred in Kenya

Suspected Islamic extremists from Somalia believed to be behind 36 deaths

(Newser) - At least 36 quarry workers were killed early today in northern Kenya by suspected Islamic extremists from Somalia, Kenyan police say. The killings happened in Mandera County near the border with Somalia and the attackers escaped, a local police chief says. The workers were ambushed at the quarry as they... More »

ISIS-Linked Militants: We Killed an American

Egyptian group posts photos of William Henderson's passport, ID cards

(Newser) - An Egyptian militant organization that pledged allegiance to ISIS has claimed responsibility for the killing of an American oil worker. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis—which now refers to itself as the Sinai Province—said on its official Twitter account last night that it killed William Henderson. The group published pictures of... More »

Gunmen Ambush Bus, Kill 28 Passengers in Kenya

Al-Shabab is blamed for attack

(Newser) - Suspected Islamic extremists from Somalia hijacked a bus in Kenya's north and killed 28 non-Muslims on board, police officials said today. The bus traveling to the capital Nairobi with 60 passengers was hijacked at dawn 30 miles from the town of Mandera near Kenya's border with Somalia. About... More »

Iraqi Officials: ISIS Leader Wounded in Airstrike

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hurt, they say, without elaborating

(Newser) - Iraqi officials said today that an airstrike wounded the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—but Pentagon officials say they have no immediate information on such a strike or al-Baghdadi being wounded. Iraq's Defense and Interior Ministries issued statements saying al-Baghdadi had been wounded, without elaborating.... More »

Khorasan Is the Terror Group to Worry About

Officials point to danger at home from al-Qaeda cell

(Newser) - More than a third of the 22 US airstrikes in Syria weren't aimed at ISIS. Instead, they targeted a lesser-known al-Qaeda cell known as the Khorasan Group—an organization that some US officials see as a "more direct threat" to the West than ISIS, the New York Times ... More »

US Unleashed 'Earthquake' Strike on al-Shabab

Target may have been Somali militants' 'spiritual leader'

(Newser) - The US says it carried out an operation against Islamic extremists in Somalia yesterday, but the military hasn't released other details of the strike on the al-Shabab network. "We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," a Pentagon... More »

Ex-Hostage: 'John' the Jihadist Beheaded James Foley

Hostages dubbed captors 'the Beatles' because of UK accents

(Newser) - A former hostage says he went by the name "John." Now the FBI and British intelligence are trying to identify the UK-born jihadist who led a group of captors in Syria and likely beheaded James Foley. "John" was a smart, educated, fervent believer in radical Islam, an... More »

44 Slain While Praying in Nigeria

Mass shooting at mosque by suspected Islamic militants

(Newser) - Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack nearby, security agents said today. The attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African... More »

Scared Dad Seeks Asylum Over Moustache

Pakistani man: Extremists are threatening my life

(Newser) - Now that's a stache: Pakistani businessman Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi sports a 30-inch moustache that he calls his pride and joy—but admits could get him killed, the Independent reports. "People give me a lot of respect," says Afridi, who spends $150 monthly to treat the... More »

Terrorists Con American al-Qaeda Supporters

Money sent for military training kept by al-Qaeda leaders

(Newser) - Three Americans who sent thousands of dollars abroad to feed al-Qaeda terrorist plots have found their money wasn't quite going where they intended. Rather than being used for military training, the $300 sent each month—plus watches, cold-weather gear, GPS units, and a remote-control car—was divided between Yemen... More »

OJ Bottle Led French Police to Soldier Stabbing Suspect

Suspect is convert to radical Islam

(Newser) - A man accused of stabbing a French soldier in the throat over the weekend has been arrested as part of a terrorism probe—and the AP reports that an orange juice bottle led police to him. The suspect, identified only as Alexandre, is a 22-year-old petty criminal who recently converted... More »

We Won! Now Can Someone Tell the Terrorists?

Eugene Robinson declares victory; PJ O'Rourke thinks that's stupid

(Newser) - In his much-celebrated speech last week, President Obama said that "this war, like all wars, must end," and that al-Qaeda is "on the path to defeat." Well, PJ O'Rourke at the Weekly Standard has a word for that kind of thinking: "Stupid." His... More »

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