Jihadist Attacks Put Benin on Track for Deadliest Month
Over the past four months, extremists killed at least 254 civilians and soldiers in Benin, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project – a nonprofit monitoring conflict globally. The tiny country, and its border region with Niger and Nigeria, is emerging as the new frontline in the regional battle against al-Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliates that have killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Suspects on trial over Moscow venue attack that killed 149
Nineteen people went on trial in Moscow on Monday over an attack on a city concert hall that killed 149 people in one of the deadliest strikes in Russia. Armed men stormed the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on March 22, 2024, opening fire and then setting the building alight, injuring hundreds of people. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility. The four suspected attackers, all from Tajikistan -- an ex-Soviet republic in central Asia -- and another 15 people accused of being accomplices have gone on trial. An AFP reporter at the courtroom before saw some of the defendants in glass cages, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Around 30 survivors were also present. One of them, Tatiana Ruzanova, told AFP she came to the court to see the defendants. "They all sit quietly with their heads slumped in cages... I didn't see if they felt guilty, they all had their heads down," Ruzanova said. On the night of the attack, she came to the concert of the Russian rock group Piknik with a friend but did not make it inside the hall. "We saw everyone already in the foyer, maybe that saved us. We inhaled smoke. It was a miracle that we didn't make it," Ruzanova said. - Closed-door trial - Subsequent hearings were to take place on Tuesday and Thursday, according to the court's website. The judge ordered the trial to proceed behind closed doors. The attack shocked Russia, which has been battling Ukraine in a military offensive since February 24, 2022. Despite IS claiming responsibility, Russia implicated Ukraine in the attack, an allegation that Kyiv called baseless and absurd. The massacre ignited a debate about the reintroduction of the death penalty. Some hardline politicians publicly called for a moratorium, observed since 1996, to be lifted. It also sparked a wave of xenophobia against central Asian migrants in Russia. Nearly half of the victims were killed by smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation from the fire that broke out, rather than from gunshot wounds, the state TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing case materials. Ekaterina Klimenko, who survived the attack, told AFP she hoped for a "fair decision" from the judges. "I still go to concerts, but intuitively I look around with my eyes to see if there is any danger," she said. bur/sbk
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
Netanyahu approves plan to fully occupy Gaza Strip, force Hamas to release hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to order a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip to force Hamas to free the hostages, according to local reports. The expansion of the war would see the military, which already controls about 75% of Gaza, take over the remaining areas and conduct operations where the hostages are believed to be held, the Jerusalem Post reported. The move was reportedly made without the input of the Israeli military's chief of staff Eyal Zamir — with Netanyahu instructing him to fall in line or resign, according to the internal memo sent out. Advertisement 4 The family of 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David released a second Hamas propaganda video on Saturday showing him in visibly dire physical condition, a day after Hamas published what it claimed was a sign of life from the captive. Al-Qassam Brigade Footage 4 This screengrab from a video released on July 31 by Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad shows a hostage, identified as Rom Braslavski by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. 4 Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks during a meeting on July31, 2025. 4 The Post's front cover on the plight of Evyatar David. Advertisement The decision to escalate the 21-month war comes despite calls from within Israel and around the world to find a diplomatic end to the fighting — with growing backlash over widespread hunger in Gaza and concern for the safety of the hostages.
Los Angeles Times
12 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trial begins for suspects in 2024 Moscow concert hall attack that killed 149 people
MOSCOW — A trial began Monday under tight security for 19 defendants accused of involvement in last year's shooting rampage in a Moscow concert hall that killed 149 people and wounded over 600 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years. A faction of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the March 22, 2024, massacre at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in which four gunmen shot people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine had a role in the attack. Kyiv has strongly denied any involvement. The Investigative Committee, Russia's top criminal investigation agency, said in June that it concluded that the attack had been 'planned and carried out in the interests of the current leadership of Ukraine in order to destabilize political situation in our country.' It also noted the four suspected gunmen tried to flee to Ukraine afterward. The four, all identified as citizens of Tajikistan, were arrested hours after the attack and later appeared in a Moscow court with signs of being severely beaten. The defendants appearing in court on Monday kept their heads bowed as they sat in the defendants' cage. The committee said earlier this year that six other suspects were charged in absentia and placed on Russia's wanted list for allegedly recruiting and organizing the training of the four. Other defendants in the trial were accused of helping them.
