The Nation Newspaper

Tag: jihadists

  • Police deny influx of Jihadists in Sokoto

    The Police Command in Sokoto State yesterday dispelled rumours of influx of Jihadists in the state

    There had been reports of such influx in some social media, especially in the late hours of Friday.

    The Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Cordelia Nwawe, disclosed this while addressing newsmen yesterday in Sokoto.

    She said, “Our attention was drawn toward a report that some unknown herdsmen were sighted in Gudu and Tangaza local government called Jihadists fully armed to destroy the peace in the area.

    “The situation was misreported based on our intelligence report. The herdsmen sighted are reasonably believed to be Malians who reside in a forest in Niger Republic, sharing border with Gudu and Tangaza local government areas of the state.

    “The herdsmen are annual visitors to the nearby forest bordering the two local governments with their cattle and always stayed in the forest in Niger Republic.

    “Even though the number of their cattle increased exponentially this year to about 3,000 from the usual figures of less than 1000, it was discovered that they are not known to be violent.

    “Moreover, they occasionally enter the villages in the two local governments to procure food and other essentials and retire back to the forest,” Nwawe said.

    She called on the people living in the areas to remain calm and go on their normal business, assuring that police were always there to protect their lives and properties.

    The spokesperson added that the situation of the areas remained peaceful and enjoined the people to always assist police with useful information that could lead to the success of the command in the state.

     

  • Report: Islamic State sneaks jihadists into Nigeria

    In what has been described as a “terror exchange programme”,  Commmanders  of the Islamic State (IS) have been sneaking jihadists into Nigeria from Syria to train them for possible attacks, according to a report by The Sun of London.

    The report said insiders feared that strong links and regular flights between Lagos and London could “export evil and terror to British streets despite our counter-terror efforts” in Nigeria.

    The strong links between Nigeria and the UK, it is believed, would  ”make it easier for IS to send its killers to attack the UK and bring more death and destruction.”

    The report quoted a senior Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Commander Group Captain Isaac Subi, as saying:

    “They come and train their fighters here and some of our insurgents too are granted access to their training in Yemen and Syria, acquiring those skills and they come back and teach others.

    “They have this exchange programme of fighters.

    ”There are hundreds of fighters. It’s a virus that spreads across our borders. Their action leaves trails of blood and tears and sorrow.”

    Group Captain Subi, 46, who has been fighting terrorism in Africa since 1999, reportedy made the comment  at one training mission in Kaduna, where British forces have been training Nigerian troops.

    There are 150 British trops currently on counter-terror training with Nigerian forces in an attempt to stem the bloody tide and prevent IS taking hold of West Africa.

    They have so far trained 35,000 Nigerian soldiers.

    Britain’s Defence Adviser in Nigeria, Brigadier Charles Calder,said on the IS threat in Nigeria:

    “In time, unchecked, it could present a threat to both UK interests and conceivably the UK mainland.”

    He added that sending small, hand-picked teams out to military training hubs across Nigeria was the best way to prevent terrorism.

  • Four suspected jihadists arrested in Spain, Morocco

    Four suspected jihadists arrested in Spain, Morocco

    Spanish and Moroccan security forces claimed on Tuesday to have broken up a suspected Islamist terrorist cell on the North African Mediterranean coast, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.

    Four suspects were arrested, the ministry said that three of them in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and one in the Moroccan city of Nador, both on the North Moroccan coast.

    The four are suspected of recruiting fighters for the extremist Islamic State militia in Syria and Iraq.
    They are also suspected of enlisting terrorists to launch attacks in Spain and Morocco.

    Spain has arrested some 60 suspected jihadists in the past year, many of them in its North African territory of Ceuta.

  • Five killed as jihadists attack UN camp in Mali

    No fewer than four suspected jihadists and a Malian soldier were killed Friday following an attack on a UN military camp in Timbuktu in Mali’s restive north, a Malian security source said.
    The assault came just a day after the fabled city celebrated the restoration of its greatest treasures – earthen mausoleums dating to medieval times that were destroyed during an Islamist takeover in 2012.
    Hours of fighting followed the early morning attack on the camp in the south of Timbuktu, the source said, adding that the offensive against the attackers ended in the afternoon.
    “At least four terrorists were killed, including those who blew themselves up in their vehicle, (and) three Malian soldiers were wounded and one killed,” the source said.
    “A Malian officer who was taking part in the hunt for the terrorists was unfortunately killed” when a wall collapsed on his armoured vehicle.
    “But we are continuing search-and-sweep operations and we will also continue patrolling to ensure the security of the local population.”
    The raid was essentially a double attack with the assailants first blowing up their vehicle at a military roadblock near the camp and a second vehicle then coming in with others who started firing.
    It was a “carefully prepared” plan targeting the Nigerian contingent of MINUSMA, the UN’s peacekeeping mission, the source said.
    A Nigerian peacekeeper was slightly wounded along with a civilian.
    The army had reports that a vehicle being used by the suspected Islamists had “infiltrated the town of Timbuktu itself,” another military source added.
    Another Malian source said the camp had recently been evacuated by police officers from Nigeria but some soldiers had remained there.
    A local resident said the assailants seemed to have “really prepared their plan.”
    “I believe that they first blew up their car so that MINUSMA forces would come out to inspect the damage, in order to attack them again,” he told AFP, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.
    Malian troops backed by U.N. helicopters  later stormed the  U.N. police base and recaptured it from the extremists.
    A Malian soldier was killed last month in an ambush on the outskirts of Timbuktu in continuing violence in the sprawling arid north of the country.
    Northern Mali fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
    The Islamists sidelined the Tuareg to take sole control but were largely ousted by a French-led military operation in January 2013.
    But Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents wrecked 14 of Timbuktu’s earthen shrines built during its 15th and 16th century golden age as an economic, intellectual and spiritual centre.
    They considered the shrines, as well as priceless ancient manuscripts, to be idolatrous.
    Friday’s attack followed a ceremony on Thursday to consecrate shrines that had been restored with the help of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
    Large swathes of Mali remain lawless, however, despite a June peace deal between the former Tuareg rebels and rival pro-government armed groups.

  • France stops Syria-bound ‘jihadists’

    French authorities have for the first time, confiscated the passports of six nationals who were allegedly planning to travel to Syria to join jihadists.

    Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the intelligence services believed the men wanted to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

    The measure is part of new counter-terrorism laws adopted last November.

    Meanwhile, France has deployed an aircraft carrier off Bahrain to be used against Islamic State (IS) militants.

    Planes from the Charles de Gaulle carrier will be used against IS positions in Iraq, a spokesman for Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

    The first Rafale fighter jet took off on Monday morning from the carrier as it sailed about 200km (120 miles) off the northern coast of Bahrain.

    Correspondents say that the deployment of the warship will halve the time it takes for military aircraft , which normally fly from the United Arab Emirates , to reach Iraq.

    France began Operation Chammal in support of the US-led coalition against IS in September.

    Mr. Cazeneuve said authorities had acted against the six men after their departure to Syria appeared to be imminent.

    Their passports and identity cards have been confiscated for six months, after which the order can be renewed. They have the right to appeal against the move in court.

    France is not the only European country that can now confiscate passports from would-be jihadists to stop them from travelling to Syria.

    In the UK, police can now seize the passports for up to 30 days from nationals trying to leave the country, and can temporarily prevent citizens suspected of involvement with Islamic State from re-entering Britain. The Home Secretary says she has seized passports from 25 suspected jihadists.