Khalifa Barq was taken from his home by a special security force, the official of Sirte security department told Xinhua news agency on Friday.
"The operation was based on intelligence information about presence of Barq in central Sirte. He is one of the founders of IS in Sirte who is wanted by the Attorney General," the official said of the arrest made on Thursday.
Sirte, located some 450 km from here, has witnessed months of fighting between forces allied with the UN-backed government and IS militants that ended in December 2016 with the government forces taking over the city.
The IS continues to remain a threat to national security, the government has said.
An intelligence source claimed the IS chief was hiding in Rawa, northwestern Iraq, when troops entered Qaim some 50 miles away near the Syrian border, the Daily Mail reported.
Al-Baghdadi felt his presence in Rawa "threatened his life", so he scampered over the border to Deir ez-Zor in a vehicle synonymous with the western world of New York City.
The source was quoted by the Iraqi News as saying: "After Iraqi troops invaded Qaim, Baghdadi was aware that his presence in Rawa threatens his life. In a yellow taxi, Baghdadi fled Iraq and headed to Syria. He is believed to have settled in Deir ez-Zor."
"The IS leader insisted on taking a yellow cab in order not to be a source for doubts. He urged the remaining IS fighters in Qaim to carry on fighting the Iraqi troops, but the source said they 'let him down and escaped in their personal cars to Syria."
The IS released a new audio recording in September purporting to be of Al-Baghdadi. The 46-minute audio recording was published by the Al-Furqan news organisation, which is affiliated with the IS, and came after Russia claimed to have killed Baghdadi in an airstrike on Raqqa in June.
The previous time Baghdadi was heard on tape was back in November 2016 as the battle for Mosul was starting, in which he urged followers to fight the "unbelievers" and "make their blood flow as rivers".
US-backed forces subsequently drove the IS out of Mosul, it's last stronghold in Iraq and the city from which Baghdadi declared his Caliphate in 2014.
Allied forces have since surrounded Raqqa, in Syria, which acted as the IS's de-facto capital and was another possible hiding spot for Baghdadi.
Officials then believed he was likely hiding somewhere in the sparsely populated desert between these two cities, predicting it could take years to locate him.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday said children were among those killed in the blast that took place Saturday evening on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zour, Xinhua news agency reported.
The explosion rocked the Tujar or Merchants Street between the Conoco gas field and the Jafra energy plants in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
The UK-based watchdog group said many people have fled toward the desert region following the explosions carried out by the IS group.
The IS group is losing ground to the Syrian Army, which captured recently the entire capital city of Deir al-Zour.
However, Ahmed Patel refuted the charges laid against him.
Rupani, who also sought Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's clarification on the matter, was referring to Mohammed Qasim Stimberwala, one of the two alleged IS operatives arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad from Surat on Wednesday.
Stimberwala had resigned recently as an eco-cardiogram technician in the Sardar Patel Hospital and Heart Institute in Ankleshwar, which Patel had helped grow into a modern facility.
Patel was one of the trustees during the hospital's formative years as a modern hospital and the only one in the entire Bharuch district with latest equipment and technology with facilities for heart surgery. He had resigned as a trustee in 2014 facilitating a new board of trustees to take over the facility.
The ATS, which picked up Stimberwala and Ubed Ahmed Mirza, claimed that they were planning to attack a Jewish synagogue in Khadia area of Ahmedabad and had even carried out reconnaissance of their target.
While Mirza was a practicing lawyer at the Surat district court, Stimberwala worked as a technician at the Ankleshwar hospital.
Rupani told reporters at the 9.30 p.m. press conference, which was delayed by more than three hours, that Stimberwala, caught by Intelligence Bureau and security agencies, was working at a Bharuch hospital where Patel had been a trustee and though resigning after UPA lost power, "still oversees in the working of the hospital".
The hospital's website has a list of eight trustees but Patel's name does not figure in the list.
Rupani claimed that the "arrest of a person working in a hospital where Ahmed Patel was a patron gave rise to several questions as how did a terrorist get a job in a hospital having close links with Ahmed Patel? Who got him the job? Whether he was aware of their activities?"
"The questions arise because the terrorist had resigned or was to quit just two days ahead of his arrest. This arouses suspicion. We are not levying any allegations but we just want Patel and Congress to clarify. If people are convinced, then it is ok," he said.
He went on to say that if the terrorists had not been caught, they would have carried out planned attacks on "Hindu religious heads and Jewish synagogue". The ATS however has mentioned only a Jewish synagogue during its investigations and no Hindu religious heads, as Rupani alleged.
Ahmed Patel, in a series of tweets, said the allegations by the BJP were completely baseless.
"My party and I appreciate the ATS's effort to nab the two terrorists. I demand strict and speedy action against them.
"We request that matters of national security should not be politicised keeping elections in mind," he said and also urged: "Let's not divide peace loving Gujaratis while fighting terrorism."
One of the trustees, Jayesh Patel, clarified that Stimberwala had joined the hospital six months ago, after having worked with Wockhardt and a couple of other hospitals.
"He had resigned on October 4 and relieved on October 24 according to his service conditions. He had said that he was leaving due to a better opportunity," he said.
The army finished its operations in Homs, capturing 1,800 square km from IS, Xinhua cited state news agency SANA as saying on Friday.
The achievement came after the army fully defeated IS in the eastern countryside of Hama province in central Syria on Wednesday.
The Syrian army previously managed to besiege IS terrorists in an enclave between the eastern countrysides of Homs and Hama.
On Tuesday, the Syrian forces sliced through the enclave and separated IS-held areas in the eastern countryside of Hama from those in the eastern countryside of Homs.
The defeat of IS in Hama and Homs adds to their losses in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, a main IS stronghold, where the terror-designated group is losing control, as well as in the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.
Activists said the Syrian army is besieging IS-held areas in the capital city of Deir al-Zour, and controls 75 per cent of it, while the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces controls 90 per cent of Raqqa.
"You will be held accountable Trump, you and all your people for every drop of blood flowing in Muslim countries," said the message on Sunday, which was left by "Team System Dz", Xinhua news agency reported
The affected websites included Ohio Governor John Kasich's office, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the Ohio Office of Workforce Transformation, the Ohio Office of Health Transformation, the Ohio Inspector General and the Ohio Department of Medicaid.
The affected sites' homepages were replaced with the same black background accompanied by music. By noon (1 p.m), all of the affected sites appeared to no longer be online.
"As soon as we were notified of the situation we immediately began to correct it and will continue to monitor until fully resolved," said a spokesperson for the Governor's office in a statement issued on Sunday afternoon.
"We are investigating how these hackers were able to deface these websites. We also are working with law enforcement to better understand what happened," said the Ohio Department of Administrative Services in another statement.
USA Today reported that "Team System Dz" is actually a group of "anti-Israeli Arab teenagers." It has hacked numerous random websites such as the University of New Brunswick's student union site and a Canadian food truck's sandwich site.
According to a report in the BBC on Sunday, IS' news outlet Amaq, on the messaging app Telegram, said "a security unit of Islamic State fighters carried out the London attacks yesterday".
An IS group propaganda outlet exhorted would-be jihadists to carry out vehicle and knife attacks on civilians just hours before three terrorists went on a rampage in central London, Xinhua reported.
According to media reports, the message sent out on an encrypted messaging app, urging attackers to "gain benefit from Ramadan" and "kill the civilians of the Crusaders. Run over them by vehicles".
British police said 12 people have been arrested so far after the attack, which left seven people dead and 48 injured. Among the wounded, 21 people are in critical condition.
"India is the second country with the highest number of Muslims. Despite having that large a Muslim population, the IS has failed to spread its wings here," Singh said at a press conference here.
He claimed the government has been able to provide security to the country with "full sensibility".
"Through our focussed action against terrorism we have been able to achieve good results," the Home Minister said, addressing a press conference to mark three years of the BJP-led NDA government.
Highlighting the government's achievements, Singh said that capital punishment was announced to five Indian Mujahideen operatives that was the "biggest blow" to the terror organisations.
Emphasising on better coordination with states, he said: "With good coordination among the states we were able to control the spread of IS across the country."
Lauding the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Singh said: "We have been able to arrest over 90 IS sympathisers. In the same way, the NIA has been able to convict the top leaders of NDFB(S) in northeast."
The Minister said the government has banned terror organisations like the IS and Ansar-ul-Ummah under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Besides, the Islamic Research Foundation of controversial televangelist Zakir Naik has also been put under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Home Minister assured that the security condition in the country was under control. "Only two terror strikes happened between 2015-16, one in Punjab's Gurdaspur and the other in Pathankot," Rajnath Singh said.
"And in both the attacks our forces were able to kill the terrorists," the Minister added.
Abadi made the statement on Monday during a visit to the battleground in western Mosul, where he met commanders of the Iraqi security forces and leaders of the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The enemy (IS) is in a state of collapse and cannot achieve any of its goals in Mosul, which once they considered their capital," Abadi said.
According to the Prime Minister, the security forces have freed about 95 per cent of Mosul.
"Life is returning to normal on the left bank of Mosul (eastern side of Mosul) and on the right bank (western side) most of it has been freed. We will soon declare full liberation of the city," he said.
Abadi also hailed the advance of the Hashd Shaabi units to the border with Syria and their liberation of many towns and villages, including villages of Yazidi minority who were brutally attacked by the IS.
"These days, the Hashd Shaabi freed large areas, including areas of Iraqi Yazidis seized by the criminal Daesh (IS), who killed the citizens and kidnapped their women," Abadi said.
"It is a matter of time and we will return those Yazidi families to their places," he promised.
Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, arrived in Mosul in the afternoon and held meetings with top commanders of the Iraqi army.
He also visited the Hashd Shaabi's Operations Command headquarters in west of Mosul and met Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Hashd Shaabi units.
According to a Hashd Shaabi units statement, they pushed to the border line on Monday morning from the newly-freed town of al-Qahtaniyah, some 18 km east of the Syrian border, making their first arrival to the border line in south of Sinjar mountain.
The latest advance is part of a major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighbouring Syria and cut off IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the IS self-declared caliphate.
Maan al-Saadi, commander of CTS special operations, said the forces have taken control of 70 per cent of al-Saha neighbourhood in north of the IS-held old city centre and killed around 70 IS militants, most of them foreigners and non-Iraqi Arabs, in the battles during the past two days.
The operations near the Syrian border came as Iraqi forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul.
Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
At least 59 people were also injured in the blast set off when the attacker detonated an improvised explosive device, shortly after singer Ariana Grande had finished her performance on Monday night. The lone male attacker died in the blast, the Greater Manchester Police said.
The explosion took place around 10.35 p.m. in the foyer of the Arena building as 20,000 fans were streaming towards the exit doors.
The Greater Manchester Police in a tweet said they have arrested a 23-year-old man in South Manchester in connection with the attack.
British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the "appalling terrorist attack" and the police said they have identified the attacker but it was too early in the investigation to release his name.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the bombing and its supporters celebrated the attack on the social media, the Telegraph reported.
Isil supporters hailed the bombing as a victory against "the crusaders" of the West. In one video an English-speaking supporter of ISIL held up a home-made sign with the word "Manchester" and the date of the attack.
"This is only the beginning. The lions of Islamic State of Iraq and Sham are beginning to attack all the crusaders," a masked man said in the short video.
Other ISIL supporters said the attack was revenge for the UK's involvement in the bombing campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria. "It seems that the bombs of the British air force over children of Mosul and Raqqa has just come back to Manchester," wrote one user.
"Yesterday, the president authorized the Department of Defense to equip Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over ISIS in Raqqa, Syria," Xinhua quoted Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White as saying.
The US-led coalition against the IS is backing Kurdish forces as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which comprises of mostly the People's Protection Units (YPG) Kurds along with Arabs and Assyrians, have already got on with siege of Raqqa.
"The SDF, partnered with enabling support from US and coalition forces, are the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future," she added.
The approval for the plan came despite strong objections of the Turkish government, which views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists.
Jake Bilardi's family located the devices and alerted authorities, ABC reported.
Following the discovery, Australian authorities began attempting to track Bilardi's movements in the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she did not want to confirm on reports whether Bilardi was involved in planning an attack in Australia.
Bishop said she had been aware of Bilardi's presence in the Middle East for a number of months, the report said.
"Indeed, we are aware that he travelled overseas last August," she said.
"In October, on the advice of our security agencies, I cancelled his Australian passport," Bishop was quoted as saying in the report.
An IS statement issued on Wednesday claimed Bilardi was among the latest group of suicide bombers that struck in Iraq's Anbar province.
One image showed a suicide bomber dubbed Abu Abdullah al-Australi - Bilardi's pseudonym - before he attacked an Iraqi army unit west of Baghdad.
It featured a four-wheel drive with a smashed, taped-up rear window moving down a dusty backstreet.
An inset image showed a pale-skinned, long-haired young man who resembled Bilardi sitting behind the wheel.
Twelve car bombs exploded almost simultaneously around the city of Ramadi in Iraq on Wednesday morning with at least seven suicide bombers targeting government security installations, police said.
At least 17 people were killed and 38 injured, an Iraqi official said.
Bishop said the government was working to verify if Bilardi died in the attack.
The simultaneous blasts Friday targeted a security office building, a gas station, and the residence of Akila Saleh Issa, a parliament leader, killing at least 45 people, a security official said, Xinhua reported.
Five Egyptians were among killed, while the number of injured in the latest report is estimated to be in excess of 80, the source added.
The parliament speaker has been confirmed to have survived the blast as he was not at his residence when the bombs went off.
The Libyan branch of the IS Friday claimed responsibility for car bombings on its twitter account.
The city of Al-Gubba is under the control of the Libyan army and the forces of Maj Gen Khalifa Haftar.
These explosions came a few days after joint airstrikes by Libyan and Egyptian air forces against militant-held sites. The airstrikes were carried out after an online video was posted showing IS militants beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages in the city of Sirte.
Libya, a major oil producer in North Africa, has been witnessing a frayed political process after its former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 political turmoil. The country is now juggling between two rival parliaments and governments.
In a press statement issued Sunday here, the Security Council also demanded the immediate release of Japanese citizen Kenji Goto, Xinhua reported.
"The members of the Security Council stressed that those responsible for the killing of Haruna Yukawa shall be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with Japan and all other relevant authorities in this regard," said the statement.
A video released late Saturday suggested that Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa held by the Islamic State (IS) militants was killed.
The new video came after a clip showed Tuesday by IS militants that demanded 200 million US dollars for ransom of the two Japanese hostages within 72 hours.
The militant group said in a statement on Saturday that one of its members carried out the suicide attack that killed and injured several Shiite community members and Pakistani troops, Xinhua reported.
There was no official confirmation from the Pakistani side yet.
Provincial Home Minister Mir Zia Ullah Langau told local media that at least 20 people, including a soldier of paramilitary troops Frontier Corps (FC) and two children, were killed while 48 others, including four FC personnel, got injured in Friday's attack.
Deputy Inspector General of Quetta Police Abdul Razzaq Cheema said the blast targeted the Hazara community of minority Shiite Muslims, and at least eight people from Hazara community were among the killed.
Shortly after the attack, the Hazara community members including women and children staged a sit-in which continued on Saturday, demanding better security measures from the government.
The protesters demand that the government implement an effective security plan and ensure protection of the community.
The Senate Standing Committee on Interior also sought a report from the Interior Ministry on the action taken so far against terrorists and banned outfits involved in Hazara killings. The committee voiced serious concern over the Quetta blast and continued killings of members of the Hazara community.
An Arabic language statement on the group's official al-Amaq news agency on Saturday said that 17 police officers were killed in the ambush in Kalmunai, the same place where the security operation took place, reports Efe news.
Amaq also issued an image of two alleged terrorists involved in the action.
Sri Lankan security forces continued to carry out a series of raids on Saturday and confirmed the death of 16 people in the incident.
The Sri Lankan Army reported the death of six children, three women, a civilian and six terrorists during the operation that began following a tip-off.
The majority of the deaths occurred when, according to the authorities, six suicide bombers blew themselves up killing their own families.
One hundred people have been arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people died and more than 500 were wounded.
According to the statement, the special operations were launched in the early hours of Tuesday against the hideouts in Khogiani district, reports Xinhua news agency.
Four hideouts have been destroyed and their arms and ammunition were destroyed during the raids.
No security personnel was injured, the statement added.
New Delhi: Amid developments after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka which claimed 253 lives, an Islamic State (IS) affiliate group, "Al-Mursalat", has been reportedly planning to carry out similar attacks in India and Bangladesh with its announcement of appointing a new "emir" (chief) in Bengal, sources said.
The emir of the Islamic State group, an intelligence official said, has been named as Abu Muhammed al-Bengali who has been given the responsibility of planning terror attacks and recruiting new members.
Citing a poster released by the Islamic State, the official, requesting anonymity, said the group has warned that their "soldiers of Khalifa in Bengal and Hind are not silenced" and that the "thirst for revenge is never to be faded away."
The threat came to light soon after a minor explosion near Gulistan theatre in Dhaka on Monday evening, in which a few police personnel suffered injuries. No casualties were reported in the blast.
The two developments followed a "propaganda" video released for the first time in five years by the fugitive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in which he acknowledged the terrorist group's defeat in the Syrian town of Baghuz, another anti-terror official said.
Looking heavier than when he proclaimed the existence of the now-collapsed caliphate in mid 2014, Baghdadi blamed its demise on the "savagery" of Christians in the 18-minute video in which he was seen sitting cross-legged alongside a Kalashnikov rifle and appeared to be limited in his movements.
"Truthfully, the battle of Islam and its people against the cross and its people is a long battle. The battle of Baghuz is over. But it did show the savagery, brutality and ill intentions of the Christians towards the Muslim community," Baghdadi said in the video.
The IS released a statement in Arabic in the early hours of Tuesday through its mouthpiece Amaq.
Indian intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring the developments in Bangladesh and they suspect that the Islamic State may carry out "jihadi" attacks in Bangladesh or West Bengal.
Officials close to the investigation have raised an alarm that some Bengali posters were in circulation in West Bengal and Bangladesh to radicalise those who were pro-Islamic State sympathisers.
The poster, officials said, read "Shighroi Aschhe (coming soon), Inshallah."
"The posters are being circulated on Telegram flashing the logo of a group called Al-Mursalat. The threat cannot be ignored as a little-known Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), affiliated to the Islamic State was instrumental in the Sri Lanka bombings and their links have been found in a recent unearthed group in Kerala's Kasaragod," another official said.
He said that another group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which also reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, was also active in Bangladesh for years and may be a threat to West Bengal where Bangladeshi people frequently travel.
The April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo and elsewhere killed 253 people, including 11 Indian nationals and some foreigners, besides injuring 500 others.
Fifteen people, including three suicide bombers, died during a raid by Sri Lankan security forces on April 26 and nearly 100 people have been detained in the island nation.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings and released a video that showed alleged plot organiser and suicide bomber Zahran Hashim and seven other men pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The extremist group released a statement early on Friday saying the bomber detonated his explosives vest at the Jamila marketplace in Baghdad's sprawling Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City on Thursday evening.
Fifteen people were wounded.
Iraq's security agencies have invested heavily in securing Baghdad, the country's capital, even as insurgents continue to stage attacks in the countryside.
Iraqis are out late during the holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims fast from dawn till sundown.
Hakim al-Zamily with the Sadrist political movement, which enjoys wide support in Sadr City, said lax security was to blame and that IS cells are taking advantage of slackened security measures in Baghdad.
Sofi alias Abdullah Bhai, a local terrorist and close aide of one of the most wanted terrorists Zakir Musa, was killed by security forces in a gun battle in Amshipora village of Shopian district of Kashmir on Friday.
"Targeting terrorist leadership towards #TerrorismFreeKashmir. Sustained efforts successful. Eliminated Ishfaq Sofi of ISJK involved in scores of terrorism related activities," the Srinagar-based Army Corps tweeted on Friday.
Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbagh Singh said the slain terrorist belonged to an "IS-inspired group".
Soon after, IS' Amaq News Agency said it had established "Wilayah of hind" (an IS province in India), according to media reports. Top officials of J&K Police and Central intelligence agencies on Saturday categorically rubbished the IS claim.
A top intelligence official said the slain militant could have been influenced by the ideology of IS, but he "definitely" did not belong to the group nor has the outfit any footprint in Kashmir.
Intelligence agencies have also said that there was no proof or credible evidence about the presence of IS cadre in Kashmir.
The captive, Nisrine Assad Ibrahim, better known as Umm Sayyaf, has helped the CIA and Kurdish intelligence officers build a detailed portrait of Baghdadi's movements, hideouts and networks, investigators have disclosed.
The claims have been confirmed by Umm Sayyaf, 29, in her first interview since being captured in a Delta Force raid in Syria four years ago that killed her husband, Fathi Ben Awn Ben Jildi Murad al-Tunis, a close friend of Baghdadi's and also the then IS oil minister.
Umm Sayyaf is a highly controversial figure who has been accused of involvement in some of the terror group's most heinous crimes, including the enslavement of the captured US aid worker Kayla Mueller and several Yazidi women and girls, who were raped by senior IS leaders.
She was sentenced to death by a court in Erbil, and spoke to the Guardian, from a prison in the Iraqi city.
Regarding a house in Mosul she had identified in 2016 where Baghdadi was believed to have been staying, she said: "I told them where the house was. I knew he'd been there because it was one of the houses that was provided for him, and one of the places he liked the most."
Her marriage had given her more proximity to Baghdadi than nearly all other IS women. As one of the organisation's most important wives, she had rare access to meetings and personal discussions and was present several times when Baghdadi recorded audio propaganda messages in the home she shared with her husband.
"He used to do that in our sitting room in Taji (a town in central Iraq)... My husband was the (IS) media chief then, and Baghdadi would visit often."
Umm Sayyaf at first refused to cooperate with her captors. But by early 2016, she had begun to reveal some of the organisation's most sensitive secrets.
She pored over maps and photographs laid out on a table in front of her, alongside American men. "They were very polite and wore civilian clothes," she told the Guardian. "I showed them everything I knew."
Of Baghdadi's current whereabouts, Umm Sayyaf suggested he had returned to Iraq, where he always felt safer.
"He never felt good in Syria, he always wanted to be in Iraq. He would only come to do something and leave. The last I heard of him, he wanted to go to Qaim and Bukamal, but that was some time ago."
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has requested Umm Sayyaf's transfer from Iraq to the US to face justice for her crimes. She told the UN security council in April that Umm Sayyaf "locked them (the captives) in a room, instigated their beatings and put makeup on them to ‘prepare them for rape'".
In a confidential report issued to state police units and police headquarters on Friday, the IB said that ISI-backed jehadi groups may carry out terror acts in Jammu and Kashmir and other places in the country around Eid.
According to sources, the Islamic State and Pakistan-backed pro-radical terrorist organisations may target crowded places such as bus stops, railway stations, airports and other important places.
Top IB sources said that even though the IS has not been able to spread terror in India for a long time, the government's decision on Jammu and Kashmir has left it enraged.
Of late, there have been reports of the presence of some sleeper modules backed by Taliban in India. The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had recently carried out raids in several states, including Kerala, to look for terror cells allegedly linked to the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka that left over 250 people dead.
"In coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord, US Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting ISIS-Libya terrorists in southwest Libya on Sept. 26, 2019," AFRICOM said in a statement on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The statement assessed that 17 terrorists were killed in the airstrike, causing no civilians casualties.
"This ongoing campaign against ISIS-Libya demonstrates that US Africa Command persistently targets terrorist networks that seek to harm innocent Libyans," said AFRICOM's Director of Intelligence Heidi Berg.
"We will continue to pursue ISIS-Libya and other terrorists in the region, denying them safe haven to coordinate and plan operations in Libya," Berg added.
AFRICOM stressed continued support for diplomatic efforts to stabilize the political situation in Libya "in order to maintain our common focus on disrupting terrorist organisations that threaten regional stability," the statement said.
AFRICOM from time to time targets terrorists in Libya, in coordination with the UN-backed government.
During the past few days, AFRICOM said it carried out airstrikes that killed a number of terrorists in southern Libya, in coordination with the UN-backed government.
In Salahudin, an army force raided a house used as an IS hideout at a village in northwest of the provincial capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, said a statement by Abdul Muhsin Hatem, commander of Salahudin operations, Xinhua reported.
During the raid, the house which appeared to be booby-trapped was detonated, killing an army officer, and after searching the destroyed house, the troops discovered a bunker where 10 IS militants were hiding, sparking a heavy clash that resulted in the killing of all the militants, the statement said.
In Diyala, the Iraqi aircraft conducted an airstrike, based on intelligence reports, on an IS position in a rugged area located near the provincial border with neighbouring Salahudin province, destroying the position and killing two IS militants inside, Sadiq al-Husseini, head of the security committee of Diyala's provincial council, told Xinhua.
The Iraqi forces are continuing security operations in different areas in central Iraq to track the extremist IS militants and destroy their locations.
The security situation in Iraq was improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
The IS also named Abu Ibrahim Al Qurayshi its new leader, Efe news reported.
A spokesperson for the terror organization, Abu Hasan al Mohager, was also killed, the group announced in a voice message on Telegram.
The message did not provide further details about the circumstances of their deaths.
The determination, made on December 18, includes Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan among the states that have been re-designated as "Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)", Dawn news reported on Saturday citing the statement as saying on Friday.
The State Department makes these designations under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and countries on the CPC list are classified as "having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, (and) egregious violations of religious freedom".
Countries in this category can face further actions, including economic sanctions, by the US.
The State Department also designated the Al-Nusra Front, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Qaeda, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, IS, IS-Khorasan and Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.
"These designations underscore the US' commitment to protect those who seek to exercise their freedom of religion or belief," the State Department said.
"We believe that everyone, everywhere, at all times, should have the right to live according to the dictates of their conscience."
(IANS)