Al-Qaeda

CENTCOM says the strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed a man tied to the December attack that killed US troops and an interpreter.

The United States says an air strike in northwestern Syria has killed an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader who had ties to an ISIL (ISIS) member involved in a deadly ambush of US forces last month.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that an air strike a day earlier killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who was “directly connected with the ISIS gunman who killed and injured American and Syrian personnel” in mid-December.

“There is no safe place for those who conduct, plot, or inspire attacks on American citizens and our warfighters. We will find you,” CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper said in a statement.

Two US soldiers and a military interpreter were killed in the ISIL ambush in the Syrian city of Palmyra on December 13.

Since then, the US has carried out a series of large-scale strikes in Syria in what it says is a response to the deadly attack on US forces.

On Saturday, CENTCOM said US forces and their partners had struck more than 100 ISIL “infrastructure and weapons” sites since the US military launched its retaliatory operation in December.

“Additionally, US and partner forces have captured more than 300 ISIS operatives and killed over 20 across Syria during the past year,” it said.

US President Donald Trump had promised to inflict significant damage on those responsible for the deadly attack on US troops.

“I can tell you, in Syria, there will be a lot of big damage done to the people that did it,” Trump said on December 13.

In an exclusive interview, Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Al Jazeera that terror groups ISIL and al-Shabab are responsible for destroying the Somali people’s livelihood and security, and says the groups opened the door to Israeli recognition of Somaliland.

The military rulers expand emergency powers, warning that people, property, and services may be requisitioned.

Niger’s military rulers have approved a general mobilisation and authorised the requisition of people and goods as they intensify the fight against armed groups across the country, according to a government statement.

The decision followed a cabinet meeting on Friday and marks a major escalation by the military government, which seized power in a July 2023 coup that toppled the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

“People, property, and services may be requisitioned during general mobilisation to contribute to the defence of the homeland, in compliance with the legislation and regulations in force,” the government said in a statement issued late on Saturday.

“Every citizen is required to respond immediately to any call-up or recall order, to comply without delay with the implementation of measures for the defence of the homeland, and to submit to requisition,” it added.

The authorities said the measures aim to “preserve the integrity of the national territory” and “protect the population” as Niger continues to face attacks by armed groups operating across several regions.

Niger has been embroiled in deadly armed conflict for more than a decade, with violence linked to fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which tracks political violence.

The southeast of the country has also suffered repeated attacks by Boko Haram and its splinter group, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP), further stretching Niger’s security forces.

The mobilisation order comes five years after Niger expanded its armed forces to around 50,000 troops and raised the retirement age for senior officers from 47 to 52. Since taking power, the military government has also urged citizens to make “voluntary” financial contributions to a fund launched in 2023 to support military spending and agricultural projects.

Soon after the coup, Niger’s rulers ordered French and United States troops, who had supported operations to combat rebel fighters, to withdraw from the country.

Niger has since deepened security cooperation with neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by a military government. The three Sahel states have formed a joint force of 5,000 troops, presenting it as a regional response to armed groups while further distancing themselves from Western partners.