Saturday May 23, 2026 A tanker in the Gulf of Aden came under a suspicious approach on May 22, prompting its armed security team to fire warning shots in a bid to turn away a small boat — the latest in a string of incidents tied to active Somali pirate groups. The reported encounter was passed to UK Maritime Trade Operations by the tanker’s company security officer. The vessel was underway when it was approached about 98 nautical miles from Socotra, the Yemeni-controlled island off the Horn of Africa. A small craft carrying…

Friday May 15, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali government forces said Friday they killed at least 50 al-Shabab fighters and armed militia members in a coordinated operation on the outskirts of Baidoa, in one of the latest clashes to hit the volatile Southwest region. The Ministry of Defense said the action came after an early Thursday ambush on government troops patrolling the area, an assault that left senior Somali military commanders dead. Government forces later mounted a counteroperation, killing dozens of fighters and…

Wednesday May 13, 2026 Teargas billowed through Nairobi’s city centre on Tuesday as Kenyan police moved to break up dozens of anti-France protesters who tried to push toward the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), the venue for the Africa Forward Summit. Police in Kenya fired teargas to stop surging protesters from reaching a conference centre in Nairobi, where France summit was being held on May 12. / Reuters Teargas billowed through Nairobi’s city centre on Tuesday as Kenyan police moved to break up dozens of…

Tarek ChouirefFriday May 8, 2026 Iran said early Friday that it had carried out a major missile and drone assault on US destroyers operating near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions around one of the world’s most sensitive shipping lanes. In a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said the operation was launched after what it called a US ceasefire violation, citing a strike on an Iranian oil tanker near Jask port and the advance of US destroyers toward the strategic waterway. The statement said Iranian…

Sunday April 26, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — U.S. authorities say they have arrested a Somali national facing passport fraud allegations and suspected of ties to a 2012 piracy case, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The man, identified as Said Jama Ahmed, was detained near the U.S.-Canada border after an off-duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer noticed him, officials said in a statement on Friday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Ahmed on the evening of April 14, 2026, several miles south…

Tuesday April 7, 2026 Gunfire erupted near the building that houses the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, leaving three people dead and two police officers wounded, according to Turkish media reports. A Reuters video from the scene showed a police officer drawing a weapon and moving for cover as shots rang out. One person could be seen with blood on their clothing. According to Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, three people were involved in the shooting and were “eliminated” by Turkish police. Koseoglu said the consulate…

Tuesday April 7, 2026 Gunfire erupted near the building that houses the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, leaving three people dead and two police officers injured, according to Turkish media reports. Video from Reuters showed an officer drawing a weapon and rushing for cover as shots rang out. In the footage, one person could be seen lying covered in blood. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sinem Koseoglu said Turkish police had “eliminated” three people who were involved in the shooting. Koseoglu said the area around the…

Thursday March 26, 2026 Nairobi (AX) — An intelligence-driven security operation near Kenya’s border with Somalia left two suspected al-Shabab militants dead and several others wounded, police said Tuesday, as authorities tightened precautions ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday period. The Counter Terrorism Policing Unit said officers from the elite Special Operations Group (SOG) conducted the operation on the outskirts of Sarira in Mandera County, days before Eid al-Fitr celebrations last week on Friday. According to a…

Sunday March 22, 2026 Israeli soldiers work at the scene of damage after Iranian missile barrages struck Dimona Iranian missiles slammed into Israel’s south, hitting Dimona – home to the country’s main nuclear facility – and nearby Arad, leaving more than 100 people wounded and pushing the US-Israel war on Iran into one of its most perilous moments yet. Israeli rescuers reported that the attacks, carried out on Saturday, wounded residents across the two cities in a sharp escalation as the conflict entered its fourth week.…

Friday March 20, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Southwest State security forces said they detained several armed men on the outskirts of Baidoa on Thursday after intense clashes with fighters aligned with the regional opposition. Officials said in a statement that the detainees belong to opposition groups they allege are linked to the Federal Government of Somalia. Mogadishu has not commented on the accusation. One of the captured men told local media he is from Buurhakaba district and dropped his weapon when the shooting began. He…