al Qaeda - The African Mirror

Sep

2020

Three Somali special forces killed, US officer wounded in car bomb -Somali official

ABDIQANI HASSAN THREE Somali special forces soldiers were killed and a U.S. officer was seriously wounded in a car bomb outside the force's base in the country's south, a regional Somali government official said. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab said they were behind the attack and put the number of dead at 20. A Somali soldier was also wounded in the attack in Jana Cabdalle village, some 60 km (37 miles) from the port city of Kismayu, which is also Jubbaland region's capital. "Two soldiers of Danab (special) forces died and two others were wounded. A U.S. officer was seriously wounded,"…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Charlie Hebdo attackers killed to avenge Prophet Mohammad, French court hears

WORLD

TANGI SALAUN THE Islamist gunmen who attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo five years ago, killing 12 people, sought to avenge the Prophet Mohammad, a French court heard on Wednesday on the first day of the trial of more than a dozen alleged accomplices. Homegrown militants Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed Charlie Hebdo's offices in Paris, spraying gunfire, on January 7, 2015, nearly a decade after the weekly published cartoons mocking the Prophet. They paused to ensure then-editor Stephane Charbonnier was among the dead, the presiding judge said in a precis of the prosecution's case. In court, the magazine's editor,…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Influential cleric Dicko emerges as driver of Mali protest movement

NEWS

AARON ROSS WHEN five West African presidents arrive in Mali to try to defuse a political crisis that has alarmed governments in the region and beyond, the man whose assent they need the most will be one who has never held elected office. Mahmoud Dicko, a Saudi-trained preacher known for his Koranic erudition and social conservatism, is seen by admirers and detractors alike as the galvanizing force behind a protest movement now threatening the political survival of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. International powers are anxious for the crisis to end, fearful it could undermine multi-billion-dollar efforts spearheaded by former colonial…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

KILLING FIELDS: 180 bodies found in mass graves in Burkina Faso

NEWS

AT LEAST 180 bodies have been found in common graves in Djibo, a town in the north of Burkina Faso, Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a report released on Wednesday, saying that the killings were likely carried out by government forces. "Available evidence suggests government forces were involved in mass extrajudicial executions," HRW said. It called for the government to hold those responsible to account. The Burkina Faso government told HRW it will investigate the claims. Minister of Defence Moumina Cheriff Sy said the killings could have been committed by jihadist groups using stolen army uniforms and logistical equipment.…