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Iraqi forces in the city of Samarra have foiled an effort by a notorious al-Qaeda-link terrorist group to wage an attack on one of the holiest sites of Shia Muslims.
A group of Takfiri militants affiliated with the terrorist group that calls itself “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) launched a major attack from several directions on the holy city on Thursday.
Suspected Islamist militants killed dozens of civilians in three villages in northeastern Nigeria, a security source and a relative of one of the victims said on Wednesday, where almost daily deadly attacks have intensified over the last few weeks.
Gunmen in combat clothing riding on army trucks drove into the villages of Attagara, Agapalawa and Aganjara, in the Gwoza area along the Cameroon border, on Tuesday. Gwoza, in Borno state, is the main stronghold of militant group Boko Haram.
Government forces pressed on with an offensive against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine today, claiming they had inflicted heavy losses on the rebel side.
A spokesman for Kiev’s “anti-terrorist operation” said more than 300 rebel fighters had been killed and about 500 wounded in fierce fighting in the past 24 hours in and near the city of Slaviansk, a strategically-located separatist stronghold.
At least 120 people were killed in northern Yemen on Monday in fighting between Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels and government forces before a ceasefire was agreed, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday.
Ahmed al-Bekry, deputy governor of Omran province, said that Yemeni war planes bombed positions held there by Houthi fighters and army forces clashed with the rebels, killing around 100 of them. He said about 20 government soldiers were killed as well.
Fierce fighting between Islamists and a rogue Libyan general’s forces in Benghazi killed 21 people on Monday, as violence intensified following the launch of an “anti-terrorist” campaign.
Hospital officials in the eastern city, the birthplace of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muamar Gaddafi, said at least 11 soldiers were among the dead and 112 people wounded.
