All articles tagged with #islamic state
An Australian woman charged with joining the Islamic State group appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court seeking bail, with her lawyer saying she has renounced jihad.
An Austrian court sentenced 21-year-old Beran A to 15 years in prison after he admitted planning a foiled Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024, including attempting to illegally buy weapons such as a machine gun and hand grenade and producing a small amount of TATP after following an Islamic State video; he was found guilty on most charges but not on two related to IS propaganda or providing moral support. He had plotted with two school friends to attack in other cities, though those plans were not carried out after travels to Dubai and Istanbul. Co-defendant Arda K received 12 years; the case followed the cancellation of the Swift concerts and Swift’s public disappointment.
An Austrian court convicted a 21-year-old man of planning a shrapnel bomb attack outside Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert in 2024 and of ISIS-linked plots abroad, sentencing him to 15 years; a co-defendant received 12 years for coordinated attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE, while a third suspect remains jailed in Saudi Arabia. The case followed a CIA tip and Swift canceled the Vienna shows.
Jury in Austria is deciding verdicts for Beran A, who admitted planning a jihadist attack on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert and affiliation with Islamic State, and for Arda K, who denies Swift-related plotting but is charged as part of the same cell. Prosecutors say Beran A also sought weapons and a bomb, and the case includes alleged plots in Mecca; a CIA tip-off preceded the arrest before the 2024 concerts were canceled. If convicted on all counts they could face up to 20 years in prison, while the defense argues Beran A was not a ringleader and should be punished only for his crimes.
A 21-year-old Austrian man, Beran A, admitted planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna and told the court he was sorry. The thwarted plot led to the cancellation of Swift’s August 2024 Vienna shows. Beran A faces terrorism-related charges and could receive up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to the concert-plot charges on the trial’s opening day, while prosecutors pursue conviction for membership in a terrorist organization. Prosecutors say he collaborated with IS and discussed weapons and bombs, with links to other suspects who allegedly planned simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE during Ramadan 2024. The court also heard it was not the defendant’s belief that he was an ideological mastermind, and he closed with his apology.
An Australian woman is in custody facing charges that she traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State group, with reporting noting the broader context of Australian families living in camps for suspected militants in eastern Syria.
A group of Australian women and children with ties to Islamic State have returned from Syria’s al-Roj camp to Melbourne and Sydney, the last Australians in the camp after years abroad. Some of the returnees may face charges over their IS involvement, with the government saying it will not assist this cohort and will pursue the full force of the law if crimes were committed. Authorities have long prepared to monitor them, and a prior May group had several women arrested on charges including crimes against humanity and joining IS. One woman remains in Syria under a temporary exclusion order, while the child is an Australian citizen.
A flight carrying 19 Australians linked to the Islamic State has landed in Australia, with supporters surrounding a woman and child alleged to have ISIS ties at Melbourne Airport as government officials, including Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, address the return and ongoing security and reintegration concerns.
A U.S.-Nigerian operation killed Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, a senior ISIS West Africa Province leader aligned with IS leadership, during a night strike in the Lake Chad Basin. President Trump announced the kill, Nigerian officials described it as a highly complex precision mission with no casualties, and analysts say the move could disrupt ISWAP’s leadership while highlighting the new security partnership between the two countries amid Nigeria’s ongoing insurgency.
The United States and Nigeria said they killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by Trump as the second-in-command of ISIS globally, during a midnight strike on his fortified base in the Lake Chad Basin (Metele, Borno state), taking out Minuki and several lieutenants. Minuki led IS operations across Sahel/West Africa and was linked to major attacks, with ISWAP and Boko Haram activity in the region. The operation followed months of intelligence gathering and marks a boost in US-Nigerian security cooperation, though earlier claims of his death had been retracted. Nigerian President Tinubu hailed the strike as a heavy blow to IS networks and emphasized pragmatic international partnerships to improve security across the region.
President Trump says a senior Islamic State leader was killed in a joint U.S.-Nigerian operation, marking a significant development in the fight against ISIS.
Three Australian women who returned from Syria—Zeinab Ahmed, Kawsar Abbas and Janai Safar—have been charged in Australian courts with slavery and terrorism offenses linked to Islamic State, including membership of a terrorist organization and entering or remaining in territory controlled by one; their bail hearings were held in Melbourne and Sydney.
An Austrian man pleaded guilty to plotting an Islamic State–linked attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert in August 2024, with another suspect set to stand trial in the same case.
Islamic State militants killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in northeastern Nigeria, underscoring the ongoing insecurity in the region.
Ugandan soldiers, working with Congolese forces, freed more than 200 civilians held by the Allied Democratic Forces in eastern DR Congo, including a 14-year-old girl. The operation targeted an ADF camp, a weapons cache was recovered, and several ADF fighters were killed, while captives described harsh conditions such as hunger and malaria. The ADF, an IS-linked group formed in Uganda, has continued attacks despite a 2021 joint Uganda-DR Congo offensive.