IS

Sri Lanka attacks: IS 'may be linked', government says

Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government believed Sunday's attacks could not have been carried out without help from terror groups abroad.

The first mass funeral was held on Tuesday as Sri Lanka marked an official day of mourning for the victims.

A state of emergency remains in effect to prevent further attacks.

Police have now detained 40 suspects in connection with the attack, all of whom were Sri Lankan nationals.

Bodies of 20 Egyptian Christians beheaded in Libya arrive in Egypt

The victims had been among the many poor Egyptians who risked their lives to find work in the lawless chaos of Libya following the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and civil war.

The Coptic Christians were beheaded on a beach in Islamic State's former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, wearing orange jumpsuits, according to a video posted by Islamic State.

Their bodies were recovered in October after the area where they were buried was recaptured from the militant Islamist group.

Pakistan launches offensive against IS near Afghan border

A spokesman said militants had gained ground inside Afghanistan and had to be stopped from extending their influence.

He said the "Khyber 4" operation, backed by the air force, would focus on the mountainous Rajgal Valley area in Khyber Agency.

Pakistan has previously denied the presence of IS on its territory.

However, the growth of the group - often referred to as Daesh - in neighbouring Afghanistan has alarmed Islamabad and the group has claimed several attacks in Pakistan over the past two years.

US military drops 'mother of all bombs on IS' in Afghanistan

The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), known as "the mother of all bombs", was first tested in 2003, but had not been used before.

The Pentagon said it was dropped from a US aircraft in Nangarhar province.

The news came hours after the Pentagon admitted an air strike in Syria mistakenly killed 18 rebels.

It said a partnered force had mistakenly identified the target location as an IS position, but the strike on 11 April had killed rebels from the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is backed by Washington.

IS 'loses more than a quarter of its territory' in Syria and Iraq

Security and defence analysts IHS say the group's control has shrunk by 28% since its height in January 2015.

In the first nine months of this year, IS' territory fell from 78,000 sq km (30,115 sq miles) to 65,500 sq km - an area equivalent to the size of Sri Lanka - IHS analysts said.

However, IS losses have slowed in the three months to October.

IS has lost just 2,800 sq km (1,080 sq miles) since July.

The slowdown appears to coincide with Russia reducing the number of air strikes against IS targets, IHS has observed.

US confirms IS used chemical rocket in attack on troops in Iraq

No-one was hurt in Tuesday's attack on the Qayyarah air base near the IS stronghold of Mosul.

Marine Gen Joseph Dunford, chairman of US joint chiefs of staff, said the group's capability to deliver chemical weapons was rudimentary.

But the attack, he added, was a "concerning development".

IS has long been suspected of making and using crude chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, where it also controls territory.

Gen Dunford told the US Senate armed services committee on Thursday that the rocket had contained a "sulphur-mustard blister agent".

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IS leader in Afghanistan killed, US believes

Last year, the Afghan intelligence agency said it believed Saeed Khan had died in a drone attack in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar.

However, IS insisted its leader had survived that attack.

On Friday, the US said he had been killed in a new drone attack in Nangarhar's Achin district on 26 July.

Syria rebels 'cut off IS escape route' through Manbij

The coalition of militias fought 73 days to drive out IS and say they freed 2,000 civilians being used as human shields on the final day.

IS captured Manbij, close to the Turkish border, two years ago.

Roads to Syria's embattled second city, Aleppo, and to the IS capital, Raqqa, pass through the town.

"After the liberation of Manbij, IS members won't be able to freely travel to and from Europe anymore," said Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim.

US launches air strikes on IS in Libya

The strikes targeted positions in the port city of Sirte, an IS stronghold.

Libyan PM Fayez Sarraj, in a televised address, said the strikes caused "heavy losses".

Western powers have become increasingly concerned at IS's growing presence in Libya.

The air strikes are the first such US military intervention co-ordinated with the Libyan unity government.

There have been two previous US attacks on IS targets in Libya - last Februaryand in November.

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German train attack: Afghan refugee 'had IS flag in room'

The 17-year-old injured four people from Hong Kong, one critically, in the attack in Wuerzburg on Monday evening. He was shot dead by police as he fled.

He had shouted Allahu akbar" ("God is great"), a witness said.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency said the teenager was an IS "fighter".

It said he had "carried out the operation in answer to the calls to target the countries of the coalition fighting the Islamic State".