Niger state has been wracked by banditry for years. Now jihadists have moved in to communities just a few hundred miles from the capital, Abuja“They ordered everyone to come around, saying if you run, if you cry, you will die,” said Bala Pada, recallin…
US to give humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Taliban say
US says it discussed aid in talks in Doha but Taliban say deal agreed that stops short of formal recognition of new rulersThe United States has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, b…
War still rages in Syrian border town at heart of Iran’s regional ambition
The site of Islamic State’s last stand is now the most hotly contested pocket of the Middle EastFrom a ridge known locally as Baghouz Mountain, the most contested corner of the Middle East resembles an oasis: it’s a splash of green on a desert horizon …
Shia mosque bombing kills dozens in Afghan city of Kunduz
Large number of worshippers killed or wounded during Friday prayers in blast claimed by ISKPAt least 100 worshippers have been killed or injured in a suicide bombing that targeted a packed Shia mosque in Afghanistan during Friday prayers.Responsibility…
Sir John Chilcot obituary
Civil servant who chaired the Iraq war inquiry and gave a damning verdict on Tony BlairSir John Chilcot, who has died aged 82 of kidney disease, was the quietly spoken mandarin famous for his excoriating verdict on the conduct of the Iraq war, begun in…
‘I can still feel the explosion’: survivors of 2015 Paris attacks relive the horror in court
First of 300 witnesses of suicide bombings and shootings give testimony in historic trialSurvivors of the November 2015 Paris attacks have begun testifying at a historic trial, reliving the night of horror in the presence of more than a dozen accused i…
ICC asked to relaunch inquiry into Taliban and IS ‘war crimes’
Move shows court’s determination to investigate contemporary as well as past crimes against humanityThe international criminal court’s new prosecutor has asked the court to relaunch an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Tali…
Three killed in explosions in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan
Initial reports suggest a Taliban convoy may have been targeted in the ISKP’s stronghold regionAt least three people have been killed and more than 18 people injured in three explosions in Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.It is rep…
Islamic State affiliate leader killed in raid, says Indonesian military
Central Sulawesi province’s military chief says Ali Kalora of East Indonesia Mujahideen shot during gun battle with security forcesIndonesia’s most wanted militant with ties to the Islamic State (IS) group has been killed in a gun battle with security …
The lesson we failed to learn from 9/11: peace is impossible if we don’t talk to our enemies | Jonathan Powell
We should have engaged with the Taliban 20 years ago, but we thought the winner takes all. It undermined our own armed forcesJonathan Powell was Tony Blair’s chief of staff from 1995 to 2007The fall of Kabul 20 years after 9/11 represents not just the …