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Three prominent Islamic extremist groups in Mali have announced they have merged into one and pledged allegiance to al-Qaida’s leader, according to an organisation that monitors jihadist websites.
Leaders from Ansar Dine, al-Mourabitoun and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb made the declaration in a video distributed on Friday, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
Clashes between Peshmerga forces and the Sinjar Protection Units erupted near Sinjar, a town in Iraqi Kurdistan, local Kurdish sources reported.
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), is known to back Peshmerga units, while Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) backs the Sinjar Protection Units.
Libya’s biggest oil port was seized by an armed group, dealing a blow to the beleaguered country as it seeks to revive production of its most important commodity.
The Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), a coalition of militias that is not allied to the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, took control of the Sidra terminal on Friday afternoon. The facility had previously been under the control of eastern-based military commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Kenya Defence Forces soldiers have killed 57 al-Shabaab militants during an operation in Subow Centre near Afmadow region in Somalia.
The attack by KDF soldiers who are operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) also left several other militants with injuries.
The Syrian military, backed by the Russian Air Force, has completed its operation to liberate the key city of Palmyra from militants, Kremlin has announced.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the historic city in Syria’s Homs province has been liberated, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.