Al-Shabab beheads 9 civilians in Kenya

Al-Shabab beheads 9 civilians in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya

Al-Shabab extremists from neighboring Somalia beheaded nine civilians in an attack on a village in Kenya’s southeast early Saturday, officials said, adding to growing concerns the Islamic militant group has taken up a bloody new strategy.

The attack occurred in Jima village in Lamu County, said James Ole Serian, who leads a task force of security agencies combating the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab.

Beheadings by al-Shabab have been rare in Kenya even as the group has carried out dozens of deadly attacks over the years. Beheadings are not uncommon in Somalia, where the extremists carry them out on people who are believed to be enemies and to terrorize local populations.

US bombers join jets for training mission

SEOUL, South Korea

Two U.S. bombers flew to the Korean Peninsula to join fighter jets from South Korea and Japan for a practice bombing run as part of a training mission in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, officials said Saturday.

U.S. military officials described the mission Friday as a defensive show of force and unity from the three allied nations and said it demonstrated “the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies.”

“North Korea’s actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland,” Gen. Terrence O’ Shaughnessy, U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander, said in a statement from Pacific Air Forces. “Let me be clear: If called upon we are trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces.”

IS group in Egypt claims deadly attack

CAIRO

An Islamic State affiliate in Egypt has claimed responsibility for the attack on a military checkpoint in the country’s Sinai Peninsula earlier in the day that killed 23 soldiers and wounded 33 others.

The group said in an online statement that it used two suicide car bombers and a number of fighters who were willing to die to stage the attack Friday.

It said the attack came as the Egyptian army was preparing an assault against the IS group’s positions in the region.

Jailed leader is given house arrest

CARACAS, Venezuela

Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was released from prison and placed under house arrest Saturday after more than three years in military lockup, a shock reversal that fueled hopes for a broader amnesty for dozens of jailed activists as the country slides ever deeper into political turmoil.

Venezuela’s government-stacked Supreme Court said in a statement that it had granted Lopez the “humanitarian measures” for health reasons and “serious signs of irregularities” in the handling of the case that it did not specify.

Iraq: Forces close to retaking Mosul

MOSUL, IRAQ

Iraqi commanders said Saturday their forces are “tens of meters” away from defeating the Islamic State group in Mosul, a day after a major counterattack by the militants.

Iraqi officials have made similar pronouncements over the past week as security forces have bottled the militants up in a sliver of the Old City along the Tigris River. But the troops’ progress has slowed in recent days.

The militants hold less than one square mile of territory, but are using civilians as human shields, making it nearly impossible for U.S.-led warplanes to flush them out.

The operation to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, began in October.

IS seized Mosul in the summer of 2014 when it swept across northern and central Iraq.

Associated Press