NEWS BRIEFING
15 killed as Somali forces end terror siege at hotel in capital
The assault started when a vehicle laden with explosives detonated outside the Ambassador Hotel on Wednesday evening and three militants stormed inside the building, said the African Union Mission in Somalia. The AU multinational force is bolstering Somalia's weak government against an insurgency by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which sheared off the front of the luxury hotel and left blood spattered on bullet-marked walls. The twisted remains of dozens of vehicles ringed the site.
One militant was killed at the entrance to the hotel while two others entered and shot at residents, the AU force said in a statement. All the attackers were killed in the siege.
Nine bodies were removed from the hotel after troops killed the remaining assailants, Capt. Mohamed Hussein, a senior Somali police officer, told The Associated Press.
Six out of 40 people injured in the attack died from their wounds, said Ahmed Mohamed, a nurse at Madina hospital in Mogadishu. Victims screamed in pain in overwhelmed hospitals, and there were fears the death toll could rise.
The two members of parliament killed in the attack had dual British citizenship, a statement from British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's office said as he visited Somalia for security talks.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack, saying extremists launched it after suffering major blows from security forces.
U.S.: Global terror attacks dip, but Iran still main state sponsor
The department reported a 13 percent decrease in attacks in 2015 from the year before — the first such decline since 2012 — but said the threat from extremists keeps evolving as groups exploit lawlessness in ungoverned areas and seize on corruption to recruit members.
“The global terrorist threat continued to evolve rapidly in 2015, becoming increasingly decentralized and diffuse,” it said. “Terrorist groups continued to exploit an absence of credible and effective state in
The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Navy said in a news release that the pilot was beginning to take off during an afternoon practice session when the crash happened.
A U.S. official said the pilot was identified as Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the Blue Angels after this tragic loss,” Adm. John Richardson, the Navy's top officer, said in a Facebook post.
Five other F/A-18 jets landed safely moments after the crash.
Army says 5 Fort Hood soldiers dead, 4 missing in floodwaters
Aerial and ground crews searched the 20-mile Owl Creek that winds through heavily wooded terrain on the northern fringe of the 340-square-mile Army base after the truck flipped in swift floodwaters during a training exercise. Three soldiers were rescued and were hospitalized in stable condition.
More thunderstorms are expected to move through the area Friday. Parts of Texas have been inundated with rain in the last week, and more than half of the state is under flood watches or warnings. At least six people died in floods last week in Central and Southeast Texas.
Police: Mother kills her 3 sons in ‘horrific scene'
Officers found the dead boys — 2 months old and 5 and 8 years old — in a closet. The youngest boy's body was in a case of some kind in the closet, Sgt. Trent Crump said.
No identities were released.
“Detectives have informed me that it appears the children at this point were likely stabbed to death and parts of their bodies were dismembered,” Crump said.
He did not elaborate on the dismemberment but earlier said it was an “absolutely horrific scene.”
The mother was hospitalized in critical condition with neck and abdomen wounds but is expected to survive, police said.
Authorities: Man charged with 3 deaths cites ‘Purge'
A Marion County judge entered a not guilty plea for Johnathan Cruz and ordered him held without bond during an initial hearing Thursday on three murder counts and other charges for the attacks starting May 12.
Angela Barger, who told reporters after the hearing she was Cruz's girlfriend, said “they're making him out to be some type of crazy, violent person, and he's not,” she said. “Yeah, he had issues, but he wasn't that violent.”
Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson said authorities have cellphone video of at least part of one suspected attack.