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US

U.S. Weighs Revoking Citizenship for Somalis Convicted of Fraud, White House Says

White House weighs revoking U.S. citizenship for Somalis convicted of fraud amid Minnesota probe The White House said Wednesday it is examining whether to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Somalis convicted of fraud in Minnesota, as the administration escalates a wide-ranging investigation into alleged abuse of federal social service programs. Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, told Fox News the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department are “looking at” denaturalization, calling it “a tool at the…

U.S. Begins Surveillance Flights Over Nigeria After Trump’s Intervention Threat

U.S. surveillance flights over Nigeria have ramped up since late November, signaling a sharp uptick in security cooperation as Washington presses Abuja to curb mounting violence, including attacks on Christian communities. Flight-tracking data and current and former U.S. officials confirm contractor-operated missions flying near daily from Accra, Ghana, across Nigerian airspace and back. It was not immediately clear what specific intelligence the aircraft are collecting. A current U.S. official confirmed the flights but…

From Syria to Somalia, US troops deployed this holiday season on open-ended missions

America’s forever wars didn’t end. They receded from view — and risk roaring back. While Washington fixates on China, Iran and Russia, U.S. troops are still fighting, striking and being targeted from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa and the Caribbean corridor. The missions are smaller and quieter than the wars that defined the post‑9/11 era. They are also open‑ended, conducted under authorizations Congress passed more than two decades ago — long after most Americans stopped paying attention. The footprint shrank, not…

Trump Administration Recalls U.S. Ambassador to Somalia and Other Career Diplomats

MOGADISHU — The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts worldwide in a sweeping reshuffle aimed at aligning U.S. diplomacy with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, according to two State Department officials. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters, said chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were notified last week that their tenures will end in January. All of the recalled diplomats were…

U.S. conducts large retaliatory airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, officials say

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military launched large-scale air and ground strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets across central Syria on Friday, a retaliation U.S. officials said was tied to a deadly Dec. 13 attack on American personnel in the country. The operation, which U.S. Central Command said hit more than 70 targets, was supported by Jordanian fighter jets and drew on a mix of U.S. F-15 and A-10 aircraft, Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were aimed at…

Somali rickshaw driver killed in Mogadishu weeks after U.S. visa lottery win

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A young rickshaw driver who had recently won the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery was shot and killed late Sunday in Mogadishu’s Dayniile district, police and relatives said, shattering plans to migrate with his pregnant wife and intensifying concern over attacks on transport workers. Police identified the victim as Abdirisaq Abukar Mohamed. Family members said he was driving his three-wheeled motorized rickshaw when gunmen opened fire, striking him in the chest and throat. He died at the scene. Somali police…

U.S. Visa Lottery–Winning Rickshaw Driver Fatally Shot in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A rickshaw operator was shot dead late Sunday in Mogadishu’s Dayniile district by an armed man believed to be a Somali government soldier, relatives and witnesses said, in a killing that has revived public anger over military accountability in the capital. The victim, identified by family as Abdirisaq Abuukar Mohamud, was killed in the Barwaqo area of Dayniile. The assailant was allegedly a member of the Somali National Army, reportedly among troops trained in Eritrea, according to relatives.…

Somali TikTok Influencer Deported From U.S. Returns to Mogadishu Amid al-Shabab Threats

Somali influencer deported from U.S. returns to Mogadishu under threat, stoking migrant fears MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali social media influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers has been deported from the United States after months in immigration detention, returning to Mogadishu amid renewed fears for his safety and mounting anxiety across Somali migrant communities in the American Midwest. Mahad Mohamud, 36, widely known online as “Garyaqaan,” or “The Lawyer,” was removed from the U.S. last month after…

ISIS ambush in Syria kills two U.S. troops and a civilian

ISIS gunman kills 2 U.S. troops and a U.S. civilian in Syria ambush; attacker dead, CENTCOM says Two U.S. service members and a U.S. civilian were killed and three other service members were wounded when a lone ISIS (Daesh) gunman ambushed a joint operation in Syria on Dec. 13, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday. The assailant was engaged and killed at the scene, according to a CENTCOM statement posted on X. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the civilian killed was a U.S. interpreter. CENTCOM did not…

Turkey building Somalia spaceport as U.S., China, France boost satellite surveillance

Turkey starts building Somalia spaceport, a strategic equatorial launch site drawing global scrutiny Turkey has begun constructing a satellite and rocket launch site on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast, a bold step that Ankara says will accelerate its space ambitions and that outside observers say is already drawing intense attention from rival powers. The spaceport — publicly backed by Baykar chairman Selçuk Bayraktar — is being developed under Turkish state authority on a roughly 30-by-30-kilometer coastal tract. Turkish…