https://www.scmp.com/rss/522465/feed The latest news and top stories on al-Qaeda. A transnational militant Sunni Islamist organisation, al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden. Its primary mission is to wage global jihad against perceived enemies of Islam, particularly the United States and its allies, aiming to establish a global Islamic caliphate. Historically based in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan, it operates through a decentralised network of affiliates worldwide. Al-Qaeda is infamous for orchestrating numerous... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters The US has arrested a person suspected of ‍playing a central role in the 2012 attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday. Bondi said Zubayar al-Bakoush has been ⁠extradited to the United States and will face murder, arson and terrorism-related charges. Four US personnel were killed in the September 11, 2012, incident, which was initially thought to be a spontaneous reaction to protests ‍but was later identified as a deliberate attack carried out by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342732/us-arrests-suspect-2012-benghazi-consulate-attack-bondi-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342732/us-arrests-suspect-2012-benghazi-consulate-attack-bondi-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:51:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The European Union has listed Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the bloc’s top diplomat said in a post on social media on Thursday. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that foreign ministers unanimously agreed on the designation. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working towards its own demise,” she said. “This will put them on the same footing with al-Qaeda, Hamas, Daesh,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3341739/eu-designates-irans-revolutionary-guard-terrorist-group-amid-bloody-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3341739/eu-designates-irans-revolutionary-guard-terrorist-group-amid-bloody-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:00:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters Syria on Tuesday announced a ceasefire with Kurdish forces it has seized swathes of territory from in the northeast and gave them four days to agree on integrating into the central ‌state, which their main ally, the United States, urged them to accept. The lightning government advances in recent days and the apparent withdrawal of US support for the continued holding of territory by the Syrian Democratic ‍Forces represent the biggest change of control in the country since rebels ousted Bashar... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3340614/syria-gives-kurds-4-days-accept-integration-us-signals-end-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3340614/syria-gives-kurds-4-days-accept-integration-us-signals-end-support?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:49:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A third round of retaliatory strikes by the US in Syria resulted in the death of an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, who officials say had a direct tie to the Islamic State member responsible for last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country. US Central Command announced that the strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who they claim was “an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was directly connected” to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3340286/us-strike-syria-kills-leader-tied-isis-ambush-left-3-americans-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3340286/us-strike-syria-kills-leader-tied-isis-ambush-left-3-americans-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2026 21:48:45 +0000 Reuters Reuters A British teenager who praised the killer of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event ‌and said he planned to bomb British rock band Oasis’ reunion concert ‍was sentenced to detention on Friday for possession of an al-Qaeda manual. McKenzie Morgan, 18, was arrested at his home in Wales after sending messages on the social media platform Snapchat in ⁠which he praised Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls and stabbed 10 others in July 2024, prosecutor Corinne Bramwell... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340219/uk-teen-who-praised-southport-murderer-jailed-possessing-al-qaeda-manual?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340219/uk-teen-who-praised-southport-murderer-jailed-possessing-al-qaeda-manual?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:21:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two men were found guilty on Tuesday of plotting to kill hundreds in an Islamic State-inspired gun rampage against the Jewish community in England, a planned attack investigators say shows the resurgent risk posed by the militant group. Police and prosecutors said Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, who went on trial a week after an unrelated deadly attack on a synagogue in the nearby northwest city of Manchester in October, were Islamic extremists who wanted to use automatic firearms to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337544/2-men-found-guilty-uk-plot-kill-hundreds-jewish-community?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337544/2-men-found-guilty-uk-plot-kill-hundreds-jewish-community?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:05:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters Iraq will remove Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis from an asset-freeze list, officials said on Thursday, after the Iran-aligned groups were mistakenly included in an earlier government publication, prompting confusion and criticism. The Justice Ministry’s official gazette last month published a list of groups and entities whose funds would be blocked, naming both militant groups, a move that would likely have been welcomed in Washington and increased pressure on Tehran. A letter from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3335239/iraq-removes-iran-aligned-hezbollah-and-houthis-asset-freeze-list-after-mistake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3335239/iraq-removes-iran-aligned-hezbollah-and-houthis-asset-freeze-list-after-mistake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 14:07:43 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Suspected jihadists in northern Mali kidnapped a young woman who had been posting on TikTok and then publicly executed her, her family and local officials said on Sunday. Mariam Cisse posted videos about the city of Tonka in the northern Timbuktu region and had 90,000 followers but her abductors accused her of collaborating with the army. News of her death has shocked the country, which is ruled by a military junta that is struggling to contain the jihadist insurgency that has gripped the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3332126/malian-woman-who-posted-tiktok-abducted-and-publicly-executed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3332126/malian-woman-who-posted-tiktok-abducted-and-publicly-executed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Nov 2025 20:41:57 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to take part in the UN General Assembly, the first president of Syria to do so in nearly six decades. The last time a Syrian head of state attended the General Assembly was in 1967. That was before the 50-year rule of the Assad family dynasty, which came to an end in December when then-president Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by Sharaa. Assad’s fall also brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326324/syrian-president-arrives-us-un-general-assembly-first-time-nearly-60-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326324/syrian-president-arrives-us-un-general-assembly-first-time-nearly-60-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 23:08:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters British police arrested dozens more people on Saturday under anti-terrorism laws for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned by the government as a terrorist organisation. Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Police have arrested... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324619/dozens-arrested-latest-uk-protest-banned-palestine-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324619/dozens-arrested-latest-uk-protest-banned-palestine-action?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 14:36:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The authorities in Mali on Thursday said a French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for French intelligence services, and accused “foreign states” of trying to destabilise the country. The ruling junta, which came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, also said that dozens of soldiers had been detained in recent days for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government. Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321916/mali-junta-arrests-generals-and-suspected-french-agent-over-alleged-coup-plot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3321916/mali-junta-arrests-generals-and-suspected-french-agent-over-alleged-coup-plot?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 23:21:53 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United States on Monday announced it was revoking its designation as a “foreign terrorist organisation” of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group once linked to al-Qaeda that toppled Syria’s government in December. “In consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” wrote US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a memo. An armed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317292/us-revoking-terrorist-designation-syrias-hts-group-overthrew-president-assad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317292/us-revoking-terrorist-designation-syrias-hts-group-overthrew-president-assad?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:29:43 +0000