The Weekly Edition

2026 Yemen offensives

2026 Yemen offensives, Strait of Bab al-Mandab crisis

Polish military jets are scrambled in response to Russian airstrikes on Ukraine. Individuals in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, are briefly urged to seek shelter before an alert is lifted. (Reuters)

Russian and Ukrainian forces exchange strikes that kill at least eight people in Ukraine and one in Russia, hitting Kyiv and its outskirts, the Kharkiv and Odesa Oblasts, Sumy, and Russian-occupied Enerhodar, all in Ukraine, as well as Russia's Belgorod Oblast. (AP)

Russian strikes hit Kyivstar's headquarters and multiple data centres in Kyiv, including a facility struck twice that injures two children and an adult. Russia also says it targeted a Vodafone Ukraine data centre. (India Today)

A Russian drone strikes Pivdennyi Bridge in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the fourth time in two days. (The Kyiv Independent)

At least three people are killed and 24 others, including the former secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Volodymyr Horbulin, are injured by Russian drone strikes on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine building, a health clinic, and a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine. (The Guardian) (Ukrainska Pravda)

A Russian Su-35 fighter jet shoots down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter over Voronezh Oblast, Russia, in a friendly fire incident. All three crew members are killed. (Kyiv Independent)

Pakistan launches airstrikes in Afghanistan, claiming the killing of 22 Taliban fighters at two locations, while the Government of Afghanistan reports that nine women and children are killed in Kunar Province and Helmand Province by Pakistan airstrikes. (Al Jazeera)

The Afghan military kill 28 fighters allegedly linked to the Islamic State in Nuristan Province. The Minister of Defense reports that the gunmen entered from Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)

A drone strikes Tigrai Television's headquarters in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, forcing the station off air, while Tigray People's Liberation Front forces capture Erebti, Afar Region, and advance toward Afdera. (AFP via France 24)

Explosions caused by suspected drone strikes are reported in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa, including one near the Ethiopian National Defense Force' headquarters. (BBC News)

Ethiopian government forces push Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels out of Afar Region after recapturing the towns of Abala, Erebti and Megale. (AFP via France 24)

At least 23 people are killed and others are injured as heavy clashes breaks out across the South West State of Somalia, as forces loyal to former president Abdiaziz Laftagareen launch a major armed assault on troops of Aden Madobe and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The assault starts with gunfire, explosive drones and a suicide vehicle bomb, spreading through the regional capital Baidoa. (Garowe Online) (Horseed Media) (Bluewin)

The Puntland Maritime Police Force successfully frees another hijacked oil tanker, the MT Honour ​25, following an ongoing week-long counter-piracy operation near Bayla, Karkaar, Puntland, after it was seized by Somali pirates on 21 April ​around 30 nautical miles off Puntland's coast with 17 crew members on board. (Reuters) (Somali Guardian)

Five crew members aboard the MT Honour 25 are killed and four more injured by the pirates before the rescue. The fatalities are three citizens of Pakistan and one each from India and Myanmar. It is the first time in over a decade that people are killed by the pirates. (Al Jazeera)

At least 50 people are killed and 58 others are injured in a Tatmadaw airstrike on a market area in Kyauktaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar. The strike targeted the Arakan Army, which controls Kyauktaw. (AFP via France 24)

Gang members kill at least eleven civilians in Gros Morne, Grand'Anse, Haiti, after exchanging fire with a Gang Suppression Force patrol, which kills three attackers before the remaining gunmen flee. (Demócrata)

An Israeli airstrike kills Izz al-Din al-Beik, the head of Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip. (Reuters)

More than 100 Israeli settlers attack the Palestinian village of Jalud in the occupied West Bank, burning two homes and injuring three Israeli security personnel while preventing a displaced Palestinian family from returning home. (AFP via The Manila Times)

American troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, ending their 23-year presence in the country that started with the 2003 U.S. invasion, and also the 12-year U.S. intervention against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. (AP) (Reuters)

Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, announces that the group will suspend military activities in Iraq following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, with the exception of targeting hostile aircraft violating the country's airspace. (Middle East Eye)

Hashim Moosa, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and the mastermind of the 2025 Pahalgam attack is killed in an encounter with security forces in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir.(The New Indian Express)

Unknown gunmen open fire against a bus carrying employees returning home from work in Homs, Syria, killing seven people and wounding four more. (Middle East Eye)

Israeli settlers shoot and kill a Palestinian man at his home in Yasuf, West Bank, and injure another. (Reuters)

A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces on a dormitory at the University of Kordofan in El Obeid, North Kordofan, Sudan, kills five people. (Sudan Tribune)

Sudan's armed forces announces that they have recaptured the North Kordofan town of al-Mazroub. (Al Jazeera)

The death toll in the Rapid Support Forces drone attack on the University of Kordofan in El Obeid rises to 10. (AFP via Arab News)

Eighteen people are killed as Boko Haram gunmen open fire on villagers collecting firewood in Marte, Borno State, Nigeria. (Reuters)