Judgment referred to Grand Mufti
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced former President Mohammed Morsi and 120 others to death for a mass prison break in 2011 that saw Hosni Mubarak, who was president at that time, being ousted from power. Most of the others accused in the case were tried in absentia. The next hearing of the case was set for June 2, with Judge Shaaban el-Shami’s decision being referred to the country’s Grand Mufti for a non-binding opinion. Morsi, the first democratically elected President of the country, was removed from power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in July 2013.
IS commander killed by US forces
United States Special Forces claimed to have killed a senior commander of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a raid in eastern Syria on Saturday. Abu Sayyaf was killed during a firefight after he resisted being captured by the soldiers, officials said. Sayyaf’s wife was captured during the attack, while a girl from the religious Yazidi minority was rescued. US National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said that Sayyaf had been in charge of overseeing the militant outfit’s revenue-gathering activities, including its illegal oil and gas operations.
Boko Haram retakes key Nigerian town
Boko Haram has recaptured the strategic north-eastern Nigerian town of Marte, the country's officials said on Saturday. The capture of the town is a “huge setback” for security forces fighting the Islamist group, said Zannah Umar Mustapha, the deputy governor for the Borno state where Marte is located. The town, which sits on a trade route between Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, had been freed by government forces late in February. The outfit has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria for the last six years.
7 militants killed by US drone in Pakistan
Seven militants were killed during a drone strike conducted by the United States in Pakistan on Saturday. Pakistani intelligence officials said that the militants were killed after missiles fired from the drone struck a compound in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan. Several militants fled to the Shawal Valley to avoid personnel losses after the Pakistani government launched a military offensive in the region in June last year.
17 charged for role in Burundi coup
Seventeen Burundian security officials including five generals on Saturday were charged for their role in the attempted coup against the country’s President, Pierre Nkurunziza. A Presidential spokesman said that the suspected leader of the coup attempt, Major-General Godefroid Niyombare, had still not been captured. The attempted coup was launched earlier this week after violent opposition demonstrations against Nkurunziza’s nomination for a third term in office.
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An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced former President Mohammed Morsi and 120 others to death for a mass prison break in 2011 that saw Hosni Mubarak, who was president at that time, being ousted from power. Most of the others accused in the case were tried in absentia. The next hearing of the case was set for June 2, with Judge Shaaban el-Shami’s decision being referred to the country’s Grand Mufti for a non-binding opinion. Morsi, the first democratically elected President of the country, was removed from power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in July 2013.
IS commander killed by US forces
United States Special Forces claimed to have killed a senior commander of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a raid in eastern Syria on Saturday. Abu Sayyaf was killed during a firefight after he resisted being captured by the soldiers, officials said. Sayyaf’s wife was captured during the attack, while a girl from the religious Yazidi minority was rescued. US National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said that Sayyaf had been in charge of overseeing the militant outfit’s revenue-gathering activities, including its illegal oil and gas operations.
Boko Haram retakes key Nigerian town
Boko Haram has recaptured the strategic north-eastern Nigerian town of Marte, the country's officials said on Saturday. The capture of the town is a “huge setback” for security forces fighting the Islamist group, said Zannah Umar Mustapha, the deputy governor for the Borno state where Marte is located. The town, which sits on a trade route between Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, had been freed by government forces late in February. The outfit has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria for the last six years.
7 militants killed by US drone in Pakistan
Seven militants were killed during a drone strike conducted by the United States in Pakistan on Saturday. Pakistani intelligence officials said that the militants were killed after missiles fired from the drone struck a compound in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan. Several militants fled to the Shawal Valley to avoid personnel losses after the Pakistani government launched a military offensive in the region in June last year.
17 charged for role in Burundi coup
Seventeen Burundian security officials including five generals on Saturday were charged for their role in the attempted coup against the country’s President, Pierre Nkurunziza. A Presidential spokesman said that the suspected leader of the coup attempt, Major-General Godefroid Niyombare, had still not been captured. The attempted coup was launched earlier this week after violent opposition demonstrations against Nkurunziza’s nomination for a third term in office.
