🏴❌🇮🇶 — 10 killed in an IED attack by Islamic State in Tarmiyah area, north of Baghdad.

5 officers and 5 soldiers of the Iraqi army were reportedly killed and several more injured by an IED planted by IS fighters north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, sweeping operations continue to find the culprits, IS has not commented on the event yet.

🏴🏳️🇩🇿🇲🇱 — Information was released on how the Spanish hostage was kidnapped and later recovered

➡️ Navarro was kidnapped in southern Algeria by 7 young men in a stolen car and brought to Mali in the IS-controlled Menaka region, the men were unaffiliated to any group but were reportedly answering to a call of the Islamic State in the region to catch European hostages wherever they may be found in exchange of large sums of money.

➡️ After the kidnapping, the Algerian state put pressure on the FLA to try and find the hostage, otherwise the FLA wouldn't have taken the risk to enter into clashes with IS.

➡️ The FLA intercepted the bandits before they could reach IS and encircled them and the detainee in a way that a firefight between FLA and IS wouldn't endanger the hostage.

➡️ Negotiations then ensued between the FLA and the young bandits, in which the FLA promised them amnesty and payback if they left the hostage as is and retreated, which the bandits accepted.

➡️ Interesting point as well is the bandits also gave the FLA the hostage's phone and passport, with which he was able to enter in communication with his family through the Starlink network.

No info on the Austrian hostage yet but the expctations are grim

🏴❌🇳🇪🇧🇫 — Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) ambushed a large convoy of joint Nigerien and Burkinabe army.

➡️ A joint convoy of the two armed forces heading from Dori to Seytenga to then cross to Niger was ambushed by ISSP terrorists on the 11th January

➡️ 25 soldiers were killed and 5 vehicles burnt, a soldier was also captured alive by the militants, his fate is unknown.

➡️ 3 vehicles were captured by the militants, along with different weapons and ammunition.

➡️ IS also says one of their fighters died in the clashes.

According to War Noir, IS fighters were armed with:

#China-made 🇨🇳 Type 80 machine guns, #Romania-made 🇷🇴 PM md. 90 rifle, AKM / Type 56 rifles and Type 3 AK-47 rifle.