Mosul museum left in ruins

The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency has warned that the Islamic State is just as strong as it ever was — even without its caliphate. Terrorism experts agree that it has morphed into a powerful network.

After the so-called "Islamic State" saw its influence wane in the Middle East, the group and its affiliates targeted poorly governed areas in Africa. But just how big is the threat across the continent?

More than 10 people are reported to have died and at least 50 injured. State media blamed the attack on the 'Islamic State' (IS) militant group, which has revived its campaign of violence in Iraq.

Islamic State suicide bombers attacked crowds of people gathered Thursday outside Kabul airport hoping to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, killing dozens including 13 US troops, as President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down those responsible.

The bombings at Kabul airport show central Asia's Islamic State affiliate, IS-K, is a major security threat in Afghanistan and globally. The group has a record of lethal attacks and finds the Taliban too moderate.

Residents carry out rescue missions in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida made landfall, killing two and stranding many in rising floodwaters. Ida, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, knocked out power for all of New Orleans, with more than a million properties across Louisiana without power, according to an outage tracker.

Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles," pleaded guilty Thursday in a US court to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages. "Contrary to the propaganda perpetrated by ISIS, we have given Alexanda Kotey the opportunity to face justice," acting US Attorney Raj Parekh tells reporters outside the court, alongside some of the victims' parents.

A bell is inaugurated at a church in Mosul to the cheers of Iraqi Christians, seven years after the Islamic State group overran the northern city. Dozens of faithful stood by as Father Pios Affas rang the newly installed bell for the first time at the Syriac Christian church of Mar Tuma.

Streets remain flooded and buildings damaged after tropical Cyclone Shaheen lashed Oman, leaving two workers dead in a landslide and a child killed by flash flooding. Flights were cancelled or delayed as wind speeds reached 120 kilometres an hour across Oman's north coast.

Iraqi forces claim to have captured a high-ranking IS leader in an international operation.

In Iraq's vast western desert, some 200 families live in a hamlet largely cut off from the rest of the world, their only neighbour one of the country's biggest military bases. Lost in rocky ochre hills and surrounded by humble palm groves, Al-Sahl’s only education facility is a primary school, and residents rely on livestock and farming to survive.

Russia has acknowledged destroying a satellite in a missile test, as the US had reported. But the Kremlin denies creating a risk to others in space — and says the US is being hypocritical on space safety.