Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally in 2025, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750, placing it fourth in the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Niger. Africa's most populous nation is grappling with a multifaceted security crisis as extremist groups such as Boko Haram and its offshoots attempt to carve out control of swathes of territory.
Within two years, it had spread to every continent. Members - a lot of them teenagers - were finding kids as young as nine on Minecraft and Roblox. They'd befriend them, earn their trust, then trap them. They forced children to hurt themselves on camera. To hurt animals. To do things I'm not going to describe here. That kid from Texas is serving eighty years now. But 764 didn't stop. It splintered and kept growing.
Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country. Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan.
Gunmen killed at least 50 people and abducted women and children in an overnight assault on a village in northwestern Nigeria's Zamfara State, authorities and residents said. The attack started late on Thursday night and continued into Friday morning in Tungan Dutse village in the Bukkuyum area of Zamfara when armed men arrived on motorcycles and began setting fire to buildings and abducting residents.
The ISIL (ISIS) armed group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an air force base at Niger's main airport. The ISIL-affiliated Amaq News Agency reported on Friday that the group carried out a surprise and coordinated attack on the base at Diori Hamani International Airport near the capital, Niamey. It claimed the attack caused significant damage, without providing more details.
The brazen attack on the international airport and nearby military airbase in Niamey, Niger's capital, came overnight between January 28 and 29. Balls of orange fire flew across the sky as the Nigerien army attempted to respond while residents ducked for cover and whispered prayers, as shown in videos on social media. ISIL (ISIS) in Sahel Province, or ISSP a Niger-based outfit earlier known as the ISIL affiliate in the Greater Sahara or ISGS has since claimed responsibility
He said they will provide technical support and intelligence sharing to help target and defeat terrorist organisations. The US also sent associated equipment to support the mission. Uba stressed that the US soldiers will not play a direct combat role, but will share technical expertise under the full command authority of Nigerian forces. The armed forces of Nigeria remain fully committed to degrading and defeating terrorist organisations that threaten the country's sovereignty, national security, and the safety of its citizens,
Abdoulaye Diop, the foreign minister of Mali, hosted a senior US official on Monday to chart a "new course" in relations between the United States and the junta-led nation. Nick Checker, who heads the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, reaffirmed Washington's respect for Mali's sovereignty. Ahead of Checker's visit, the bureau posted on X that the United States also looked forward to "consulting with other governments in the region, including Burkina Faso and Niger, on shared security and economic interests."
The 39th African Union (AU) summit is set to be dominated by pressing security concerns across Africa, as the continent continues to face escalating conflicts. However, there are mounting questions on whether the pan-African body can actually deliver on peace and security strategies: A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in 2023 revealed that a staggering 90% of the decisions made by the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC) have not been implemented since the inception of the PSC in 2004.