Also known as: ISIL
Islamic State group — militant organization claiming responsibility for attacks in Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
… Their armies have faced accusations of crimes against civilians, as violence has escalated in the region against jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. …
Niger pulls out of International Criminal Court after calling it neo-colonialistJoy Online
… Niger has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for a decade, and in January, an organisation linked to the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on the same airport. …
Thirty-five killed as gunmen attack Niger’s biggest airportJoy Online
… The authorities have not yet commented and no group has said it was responsible but an affiliate to the Islamic State group said it had carried out January’s assault. …
Gunfire and explosions heard at Niger capital’s airportJoy Online
… Yet the jihadist group now sits at the heart of an expanding belt of militants aligned with al Qaeda and Islamic State stretching 3,000 km (1,900 miles) across West Africa. …
Al Qaeda-linked militants curb their brutality in seized Malian territoryJoy Online
… This strategy led to the degradation of the command centre of the Islamic State-affiliated Boko Haram in northeastern Borno state. …
Nigeria killed more than 13,000 ‘terrorists’ in past year, President Tinubu saysJoy Online
… Last month, Nigeria and the US said they had killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in a joint-operation.
Hundreds of captives freed from Boko Haram mountain hideoutJoy Online
… An attack at the weekend by fighters with the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group linked to Islamic State, killed 15 civilians and a soldier in the city of Beni in North Kivu, a government statement said on Monday. …
WHO chief wraps up visit to Ebola-hit Congo, briefs president on responseThe Ghanaian Times
… Africa Command says it has carried out additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, in coordination with the Nigerian government, as joint operations against militant groups intensify. …
US strike militants in NigeriaJoy Online
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed a senior Islamic State (IS) leader in a joint-operation. …
Senior IS leader killed in joint operation, US and Nigeria sayJoy Online
… These include the Allied Democratic Forced (ADF), affiliated to the Islamic State group. …
New outbreak of Ebola kills 80 in eastern DR CongoNiger has submitted its formal withdrawal request from the ICC, nine months after announcing its intent to leave in September 2025 alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, calling the court an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression." The withdrawal takes effect one year after notification, with Niger remaining bound to the court's obligations until then.
23 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Niger has submitted its formal withdrawal request from the ICC, nine months after announcing its intent to leave in September 2025 alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, calling the court an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression." The withdrawal takes effect one year after notification, with Niger remaining bound to the court's obligations until then.
23 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Gunmen struck Niger's Diori Hamani International Airport in the capital Niamey on Thursday, killing 35 people comprising 22 assailants, 11 soldiers, and two civilians. Al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack, the second on the airport in less than five months.
18 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Explosions and gunfire lasting two hours were heard early Thursday at Diori Hamani international airport in Niger's capital, Niamey. Residents told the BBC the army repelled the attack and is pursuing fleeing assailants who abandoned weapons; no group has claimed responsibility and authorities have not yet commented.
18 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al Qaeda-linked group controlling territory in Mali, has shifted toward less violent methods, focusing on collecting taxes on crops and livestock and distributing aid to the poor, rather than issuing threats as they did five years ago. The group has grown stronger since Mali's 2020 military coup led to the expulsion of French and U.N. forces and has demonstrated its power through coordinated attacks across the country.
13 June 2026 · Joy Online →
President Bola Tinubu declared that Nigeria's security forces killed more than 13,000 insurgents over the past year and that insurgency-related deaths have dropped 81 per cent since he took power in 2023. He also noted that 124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
12 June 2026 · Joy Online →
At least 360 people kidnapped by Boko Haram from a community in Nigeria's Borno state in March have been freed from a remote mountain hideout, though the circumstances—military operation versus mediated release—are disputed, with local mediators claiming 416 were freed.
7 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The WHO Director-General concluded his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo by briefing President Felix Tshisekedi on the response to an Ebola outbreak that aid agencies warn is likely much larger than official figures. Health officials say the outbreak, already the third-largest on record, persisted undetected for weeks and responders are struggling to bring it under control.
2 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The U.S. Africa Command says it has carried out additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northeastern Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government. The strikes killed more than 20 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in the Metele area of Borno State, following the joint U.S.-Nigerian mission a day earlier that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second in command of Islamic State globally.
19 May 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the "second in command of ISIS globally," in a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin. Al-Minuki was killed along with several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in Metele, Borno state, with Nigerian and US forces reporting zero casualties.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Africa's health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province, with around 246 cases and 80 deaths reported mainly in gold-mining towns. Uganda confirmed one imported case, with a 59-year-old male who died testing positive.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the "second in command of ISIS globally," in a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin. The strike on his compound in Metele, Borno state also killed several of his lieutenants, and the Nigerian military reported zero casualties among their forces.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Africa's top health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province, with around 246 cases and 65 deaths reported mainly in gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara. This is the 17th outbreak of the deadly viral disease in the country.
15 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Somalia's South West State held local council and parliamentary elections on May 10 using a "one person, one vote" system, with 15 political parties and 394 candidates (322 men, 72 women) running for parliament, and 18 parties with 1,297 candidates (1,022 men, 275 women) competing in local council races across 13 districts. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission described the elections as an important milestone for democratic participation, though observers have reported the imposition of unwanted candidates in some regions.
12 May 2026 · Joy Online →
A coordinated assault by the CODECO militia in late April killed at least 69 people in northeastern DR Congo's Ituri province, reportedly in retaliation for an earlier attack by the Hema-affiliated CRP group. The violence reflects an ongoing ethnic conflict between the Lendu and Hema communities in the mineral-rich region.
11 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Thirteen women and children with links to the Islamic State group arrived in Australia after years in a Syrian detention camp, with police saying some will be arrested and charged upon arrival.
7 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Gunmen have killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria's north-eastern Adamawa state, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Authorities say militants raided a football pitch and opened fire at random, then burned houses, places of worship and motorcycles, with the governor saying the attack was an 'affront to our humanity.'
29 April 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State launched an overnight raid on Guyaku village in Adamawa state, northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 29 people and destroying property including houses, places of worship, and motorcycles. The group claimed responsibility via Telegram, marking the latest escalation in the nation's ongoing security crisis.
28 April 2026 · Joy Online →
Gunmen killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria's north-eastern Adamawa state, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Authorities say militants raided a football pitch and opened fire at random, burning houses, places of worship, and motorcycles, with the governor announcing intensified security operations.
28 April 2026 · Joy Online →
A 21-year-old Austrian man has gone on trial in Wiener Neustadt charged with planning a terrorist attack on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna in August 2024. He was arrested following a CIA tip-off before the gigs, leading to the cancellation of all three sold-out shows expected to draw more than 195,000 attendees; prosecutors accuse him of Islamic State affiliation, spreading jihadist propaganda, obtaining bomb-making instructions, and attempting to purchase weapons illegally.
28 April 2026 · Joy Online →
Russian forces confirmed withdrawal from the northern Mali city of Kidal following coordinated weekend attacks by separatist and Islamist groups. The separatist Azawad Liberation Front claimed control of the city, while attacks across Mali also killed Mali's Defence Minister in an apparent suicide bombing.
27 April 2026 · Joy Online →
Mali's defence minister Sadio Camara was killed in a suicide truck bombing on his residence near Bamako as part of coordinated attacks by jihadist militants and separatists across the country. The government said Camara exchanged fire with attackers and neutralised some before being wounded; he died later from his injuries in hospital.
27 April 2026 · Joy Online →
Explosions and gunfire have erupted in Mali's capital Bamako and across the country as armed groups launch apparently coordinated attacks. Witnesses report attacks around Kati military base, Gao, Kidal, and Sevare, with analysts describing it as the largest jihadist attack in years.
25 April 2026 · Joy Online →