Burkina President Roch Marc Baborè says 38 people died and 60 were injured in the worst ever-attack of its kind in his country.

ends intro

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on a convoy carrying workers to the Boungou gold mine.

It’s believe to be the work of a group linking Al Qaeda and so-called Islamic State.

Following earlier security problems, foreign workers are transported to the mine by helicopter.

Local workers still travel by road with a military escort.

President Roch Marc Kaborè’s  declared three days of mourning following the killings and called for a volunteer defense force to be mobilized against the terrorists.

The post Terror attack stops operation of Canadian-owned mine in Burkina Faso appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Five people were wounded in the attack.

Egyptian authorities have identified the suicide bomber as Abu Omar Seedy.

The attack in the town of Sheikh Zuweid 334 kms northeast of Cairo was aimed at an armored  vehicle near the market. A day earlier four headless bodies were found in the area.

Islamic State claim they were spies for the Egyptian military

Egypt  security forces killed the bomber before he could reach the target.

Soldiers who had tried to apprehend him were called off when his suicide vest was spotted.

Violence in the peninsula sometimes spills over onto the mainland  aimed at  civilians, particularly Christians.

The post Suicide bomber stopped short of his target by Egyptian security forces appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Authorities say the man, who has not been named,  was recruiting and urging young extremists to attack tourists.

Moroccan security forces have broken up no fewer that 20 terror cells in the past year.

The extent of the jihadi threat was tragically underlined by the beheading this month of Norwegian Maren Ueland and Dane Louisa Jespersen who were hiking in the High Atlas Mountains.

The four men being held for the killing  pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State. 

Moroccan authorities insist, however, they were lone wolves.

The post Dual-national Moroccan resident arrested for beheading Scandanavian tourists appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

They’ve arrested 13 people in connection with the what the Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen calls a particularly bestial killing.

Danish and Norwegian authorities are still examining the video posted on social  media showing the beheading of 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland and 24-year-old Dane Louisa Jespersen.

Their bodies were found in their tent in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains where they were hiking.

The social media posting claims the beheadings are revenge for Western anti-terror operations in Syria.

Of the four murder suspects being held, one has served a two-year-sentence for extremist related crimes.

All four have been shown on social media pledging allegiance to so called Islamic State.

A candlelit vigil was held in Rabat at the weekend by Moroccans apologizing for the killings.

The post Moroccan authorities confirm authenticity of video showing Scandanavian women being beheaded appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The kingdom’s central bureau for judicial investigation says they’ve encountered at least eight terror cells this year.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen condemns what he calls the unusually bestial killing of his compatriot Louisa Jespersen and Norwegian Maren Ueland.

They were found in their tent in the high Atlas Mountains popular with trekkers, climbers and hikers.

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg echoes his outrage.

Four arrests have been made by Moroccan police who found a video of the suspected murderer pledging his allegiance to so-called IS.

This has been worst terror attack in the kingdom since the 2011 killing of 17 people in a Marrakesh restaurant.

The post Morocco on international terror watchlist after Islamist killing of Scandanavian hikers appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The so called G5 have a three-fold increase in attacks from Al Qaeda and Islamic state this past year, resulting in 895 deaths.

ends intro

The Stuttgart-based US Africa Command promised $60-million dollars to the West African force comprising Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali,  Mauritania and Nigeria.

US military spokesperson Samantha Reho says that amount now been upped to $111-million.

It will be used to meet the needs and strengthen the capabilities of the force set up a year ago.

The administration of President Donald Trump has been accused to presenting the political frozen mitt to Africa.

Militarily, though, it is increased financial and logistical support for fighting terror on the continent.

The post Washington nearly doubles aid to G5 anti-terror force in Sahel appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

He was welcomed back to the capital Bamako by hundreds of supporters.

Amadou Toure had been in power for decade when mutinying soldiers, unhappy at the way he was handling the Toureg rebellion attacked several installations including the presidential palace, state television, and military barracks.

Toure fled into exile in Senegal,

So called Islamic  State fighters took advantage of the instability in what had been one of Africa’s most stable democracies and took control of half the country.

They were responsible for number excesses including mass executions of presidential loyalists.

it took French military intervention to drive them away and permanent French military presence to keep them out.

The post Ousted Mali leader comes home appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The world’s most expensive peacekeeping mission will start taking personnel cuts next month.

It’s planned that the Somali forces will increasingly take responsibility for the country’s security.

The 22 000-strong AU force AMISOM is not sustainable as countries and outside contributors face budget cuts.

It’s doubtful that the Somali government, which hasn’t been able to exercise control over the Horn of Africa country since 1991, can take up the slack.

The ranks of the militant  group Al Shabaab are being swelled by fighters from so-called Islamic State driven out of Libya and Syria.

Last month, the deadliest terrorist attack in recent history killed more 500 people in Mogadishu.

The post Reducing peacekeepers in Somalia puts civilians at risk appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Egyptian President Abdelfatah El Sisi as promised to respond with brute force  to the deadliest attack in the three-year Sinai insurgency.

ends intro

Yesterday’s  attack on Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed targeted supporters of the security forces attending prayers there.

Those who were not killed in the bomb blast and tried to run away were gunned down.

Ambulances rushed to take the wounded to nearby hospitals.

No group has yet claimed the attack, but militants affiliated with so-called Islamic State have been responsible for scores of deadly attacks in the province.

They usually target security forces and Christian churches, so the bloody attack on a mosque associated with Sufi Muslims has shocked Egypt.

The post President El Sisi vows brute force response to Sinai mosque attack appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Coordinated attacks on churches in two cities have left at least 44 people dead and more than 100 injured.

ends intro

So-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Palm Sunday bombings of churches in Tanta and Alexandria.

It’s warned of more attacks against the Christians who make up a tenth of Egypt’s 90-million people.

The emergency allows authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people’s homes. It requires parliamentary approval.

President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi warns that the war against the jihadists will be long and painful.

He’s ordered the deployment of the military across the country to protect vital and important infrastructure.

The post State of emergency declared after attacks on Coptic churches in Egypt appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.