Anti-Western sentiment

UNICEF is reporting a four-fold increase in use of children as “human bombs” by the radical Boko Haram group in northeastern Nigeria already this year compared to all of 2016.

UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado says she has no explanation for the increase to 83 such “human bomb” children, two-thirds of them girls, compared to 19 total children last year.

Islamic group Boko Haram uses more and more children, mostly girls, as "human bombs" in northeastern Nigeria, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in Geneva, cited by the France press.

 The Lebanese army said it was not coordinating with Hezbollah or the Syrian army in an operation it launched on Saturday against Islamic State militants at the northeastern frontier with Syria, Reuters reported.

Seventeen people have been killed and eight wounded in a "terrorist attack" in the centre of the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, the government says, reported BBC. 

Three gunmen opened fire on customers seated outside a restaurant, witnesses were quoted as saying.

Boko Haram militants have kidnapped 37 women and slit the throats of nine other people at a village in south-east Niger, according to the regional governor.
The attack happened on Sunday at the village of Ngalewa, near the border with Nigeria, the governor of Diffa region, Laouali Mahamane Dan Dano, told state TV.

In the wake of a recent lawsuit filed by families of victims against the Saudi government for the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed 3,000 people between New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, Energy Minister Khalid al Falih predicted that counter measures would be deployed by the new White House administration.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Moscow to demand explanations for the airstrikes Israel conducted near the Syrian city of Palmyra last week, the ministry confirmed.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on March 19 threatened to destroy Syrian air defense systems after they fired ground-to-air missiles at Israeli warplanes carrying out strikes.

"The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation," Lieberman said on Israeli public radio.

Israeli fighter jets launched three raids targeting Lebanese militia Hezbollah in Syria overnight.

The aircraft also carried out several other strikes. Syria reacted by launching a small number of ground-to-air missiles. The IDF intercepted one of them with the first official Arrow launch in operational conditions.

Two bombs killed at least 40 people, mostly Iraqis and wounded 120 more who were going to pray at a nearby shrine, the Iraqi foreign ministry said, cited by Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack, which the Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV station said had been carried out by two suicide bombers.