al-Qaeda

Igor Despotovic, a Serbian citizen, pleaded not guilty to publicly inciting terrorism by posting on the Telegram and Instagram accounts he moderated.

Despotovic told the Belgrade Higher Court he had posted things "out of boredom" and because he wanted "to post religious content".

The number of people killed in twin car bombings in the Somali capital Mogadishu, claimed by Al-Shabaab Islamists, has risen to 100, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday.

"So far, the number of people who died has reached 100 and 300 are wounded, and the number for both the death and wounded continues to increase," he said after visiting the blast location.

Somalis anxiously waited to know the fate of their missing relatives on Sunday as emergency workers attempted to clear debris after a deadly 30-hour siege by Al-Shabaab jihadists at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu.

At least eight civilians have been killed in a militant attack on a popular hotel in the Somali capital, an official said on Aug. 20, as security forces continued to battle gunmen barricaded inside.

Fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday evening in a hail of gunfire and bomb blasts, trapping scores of people.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers are maintaining close ties with al-Qaida as they consolidate control over the country, and their main military threat is coming from the ISIL extremist group and guerrilla-style attacks by former Afghan government security personnel, U.N. experts said in a new report.

Police car in Bulgaria. Photo: EPA/VASSIL DONEV

The arrests were announced by Norway's police on Wednesday and then confirmed by the Bulgarian authorities. 

Both detainees are Norwegian citizens. One arrest took place in Oslo, Norway, while the other was in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. The arrest in Bulgaria was done on a warrant issued by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Norway.

As the second largest army of NATO, Turkey is doing its best to protect the borders of the bloc against terrorism, human trafficking and smuggling, the Turkish defense minister has said, underlining that Turkey sees NATO as the center of its security.

The Somali National Army (SNA) received military vehicles, including trucks and ambulances, donated by Turkey on Nov. 16 as part of Ankara's support for the nation's military.

Senior military officials received the donation after a ceremony at the Turkish Embassy in the capital of Mogadishu.

The top U.S. military officers from United States and Russia held six hours of talks in Helsinki on Wednesday, in the first face-to-face meeting between them since 2019 as both nations adjust to the U.S. pullout and Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

French military forces have killed the head of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, who was wanted for deadly attacks on US soldiers and foreign aid workers.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was "neutralised by French forces", President Emmanuel Macron announced early this morning.