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More than 20 people were killed in a suicide truck bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, in a fresh strike claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group.
“The tally we have made so far indicates that more than 20 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the blast,” said Ibrahim Mohamed, a Somali police commander.
More than 4,000 Islamic State militants have regrouped and launched a second attack to try to recapture the ancient city of Palmyra, Russian news agencies cited Russia’s monitoring center in Syria as saying on Sunday.
“Despite heavy losses in manpower and equipment, the terrorists are trying as hard as possible to secure a foothold inside the city,” Interfax quoted a statement from the center as saying. “Syrian troops are fighting to defend Palmyra.”
Turkey declared a national day of mourning Sunday after twin blasts in Istanbul killed 38 people and wounded 155 others near a soccer stadium — the latest large-scale assault to traumatize a nation confronting an array of security threats.
The bombs Saturday night targeted police officers, killing 30 of them along with seven civilians and an unidentified person, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters Sunday. He said 13 people had been arrested in connection with the “terrorist attack.”
Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters providing support to government troops, engaged withdrawing members of the Islamic State-inspired Maute group along the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on Friday.
Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said two MILF men were wounded in the fighting as well as an undetermined number of the Maute group followers.
Security forces of northeastern region of Puntland, have wrested control of port town Qandala in Bari region after successfully pushing out faction linked to the Islamic State in Somalia, Garowe Online reports.
According to security official, the militants fled to nearby Mountains and Bin Ja’ael valley, whereas other reports said scores of militants among them injured fighters were spotted near Bur’a village.