ISIS in May 2026: the most important developments in security
In May 2026 the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, featured in security news mainly through the return of Australians from Syria and through military operations in Nigeria. On 7 May three women linked to the group were arrested in Australia after returning from Syria. Two of them were charged with keeping a slave in Syria, and an Australian woman accused of joining the group there was refused bail. Reports said the women had earlier been blocked from reaching a Syrian airport. Later in the month, on 19 and 21 May, reports said more women and children linked to the group were leaving Syria to travel to Australia, and by 26 May a group of them had returned. Authorities said they were monitoring the situation closely.
In Nigeria, US and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki on 16 May. President Donald Trump announced the operation, which was carried out by the US military's Africa Command, and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed it. He was described as the group's second-in-command. Analysts said the group's overall leader remained at large and that the threat in Africa was rising. On 18 May the two countries carried out new strikes that killed more than 20 fighters, and a report on 19 May, citing Nigeria's Defence Headquarters, put the number of fighters killed in joint strikes at 175.
Elsewhere, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a synagogue in North Macedonia. Four Palestinians were charged in Israel with planning attacks inspired by the group, a woman was retried in Paris for joining it in Syria, and police in Spain arrested an 18-year-old suspected of links to it.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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