Paris Attacks Suspect Traveled To Syria In 2013
A Belgian-Moroccan suspect in the November 13 attacks in Paris left for Syria in 2013 and joined militant groups there, Belgian prosecutors say.
Chakib Akrouh blew himself up during a police raid on an apartment in Paris on November 18. He has been identified in photographs taken in the Paris metro on the night of attacks as the person next to suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Paris Attacker Chakib Akrouh Identified Via DNA From Body Parts
French investigators have confirmed that a Belgian-Moroccan man, Chakib Akrouh, who blew himself up when his safe house in Paris was raided by police on November 18, was one of three attackers who killed dozens of cafe-goers in attacks on November 13.
Akrouh, 25, was identified using DNA samples taken from body parts recovered from the St. Denis apartment where he exploded a suicide vest during a police raid.
Australia's Airports Ramp Up Security Checks For Returning Militants
Australia's international airports have stepped up security checks to focus on foreign fighters returning from the war zone in Syria and Iraq, as well as checks for those potentially traveling to join the IS group there.
Medical Team To Enter Besieged Syrian Town Of Madaya
The Syrian government, whose forces are besieging the Syrian town of Madaya alongside fighters from Hizbullah, have granted permission to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to enter the town with a mobile clinic.
Severe Malnutrition Confirmed In Syria's Madaya
UNICEF has confirmed cases of severe malnutrition among children in the besieged rebel-controlled town of Madaya.
Local aid workers reported 32 deaths from starvation there within the past month.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has despatched a mobile clinic and medical team after the government approved an urgent request. The World Health Organization said a vaccination campaign will go ahead in Madaya next week.
The official Twitter account for the U.S.-led coalition against the IS group in Syria and Iraq tweeted this photo of an Australian Army trainer leading Iraqi forces at the start of a bayonet course.
Full Transcript, Video of U.S.-led Coalition Spokesman's Briefing
The U.S. Department of State has now published a full transcript of a briefing yesterday by U.S.-led coalition spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren on the current situation regarding operations against the IS group in Syria and Iraq.
A video of the complete briefing has also been published today.
Jakarta Attacks May Have Not Gone To Plan...
Yesterday's deadly attacks in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta may not have gone completely to plan, Reuters suggests.
The attacks, which appear to have been modeled on the November 13 Paris attacks -- for which the IS group also claimed responsibility -- were apparently designed to take many lives.
But of the seven people killed in the attacks, five were the attackers themselves.
In interviews with witnesses and authorities, as well as video obtained by Reuters, a picture emerges of a calculated attack that swiftly fizzled out due to the militants' lack of sophisticated weaponry and amateurish execution.
IS Funded Jakarta Attacks Through 'Intellectual Jihadi,' Police Say
Indonesia's national police chief General Badrodin Haiti has said that yesterday's deadly attacks militants in Jakarta were funded by the IS group and that the funds were driven through Bahrun Naim, a militant arrested in 2011 for illegal arms possession.
"The planners, financiers and supporters that provide [explosive] materials, assemble the bombs, facilitate accommodations and vehicles, etc…of course this is the work of a team that could be big or small," Haiti said.
"This obviously was not conducted by five men, this takes teamwork."
U.S. Military Discloses 8 Civilian Deaths In Air Strikes In Iraq, Syria
The United States military has said that eight civilians were killed and three others wounded in five air strikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria between April 12 and July 4, 2015.