Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

A member of the Iraqi rapid response forces fires a mortar shell against Islamic State militants positions in western Mosul, Iraq May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis[/caption (Reuters) Islamic State militants have closed the streets around Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, residents said, apparently in preparation for a final showdown in the battle over their last major […]

resident Donald Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court on Thursday to reinstate its controversial ban on travelers from six Muslim majority nations despite repeated setbacks in the lower courts. In its filing, the government asked the highest court in the land to rule on the legal standing of Trump’s order, appealing a ruling by […]

omali group Al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaeda, has spent at least three years in the shadow of Nigeria’s Boko Haram as Africa’s deadliest militant group. But new figures suggest that trend is changing. Al-Shabab was responsible for 4,281 casualties in 2016 compared to 3,499 by Boko Haram according to data collected by the Armed […]

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni joined other world leaders on Thursday in criticizing US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. “Climate: We aren’t taking backwards steps from the Paris Accord. Italy is committed to emissions reductions, renewable energy, and sustainable development,” Gentiloni wrote on Twitter.He also joined continental Europe’s […]

Vladimir Putin told Oliver Stone that while he agrees that the NSA has gone too far in its snooping practices, and that the public sharing of data can’t be called treason, he disapproves of Edward Snowden’s decision to leak troves of confidential files. “Snowden is not a traitor. He did not betray the interests of […]

 Mogadishu, 1 June 2017 – Soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have completed a three-day training on preventing recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflict. The exercise organized by AMISOM’s Protection, Human Rights and Gender Cluster, held in Mogadishu, is part of the ongoing in-mission training activities for uniformed […]

A gunman who set fire to a casino in the Philippine capital leading to the deaths of at least 36 people on Friday was not a terrorist, the president’s spokesman said. “This particular situation in Manila is not related in any way to a terrorist attack,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters. A family cries […]

 Russian company among 9 targets in regard to nation’s nuclear, missile programsThe U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on individuals and companies with links to North Korea as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to rein in the country’s nuclear and missile programs. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Thursday that it is adding three […]

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, striking a major blow to worldwide efforts to combat climate change and distancing the country from many allies abroad. He said the U.S. would try to negotiate re-entry on better terms. “As of today, the United States will cease all […]