Special-forces raids on an Islamic State stronghold in northern Iraq are under way before a planned offensive to retake Mosul, the largest center under the group's control, Iraq's parliamentary speaker said.

An Islamic State militant executed his mother in public in the Syrian city of Raqqa because she had encouraged him to leave the group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Friday.

Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians flocked to churches Wednesday night to attend Masses on Christmas Eve across the predominantly Muslim country, as the government continues to battle a burgeoning Islamic insurgency.

ISIS-affiliated “Sinai Province” claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel and a tourist bus in Giza's Haram district in a statement that was circulated on social media Friday.

At least 14 suspected militants were killed and 13 others arrested in military operations over the past two days in North Sinai, military spokesperson Mohamed Samir announced Friday.

Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Wednesday one defendant on retrial in what is referred to in the Egyptian media as the "Marriott Cell" case.

The Religious Endowments Ministry distributed a leaflet to mosques on Monday that instructs imams to prohibit participation in protests on January 25 during Friday sermons.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi offered Tuesday his greetings and wishes for Egyptian Copts for Christmas Day, expressing his “trust that Egyptians will remain a unified people who are building and constructive,” according to a statement from the Presidential office Wednesday.

Egyptian army forces killed yet another batch of militants and arrested two suspects in the context of the "Martyr's Right" military operation in northern and central areas in Sinai, the army spokesman said Wednesday.

The Cairo Criminal Court postponed on Wednesday former president Mohamed Mursi's trial, in which he is accused of espionage, to Jan 31.

Security threats in Libya are increasingly a burden on regional and international security. Alongside politico-security clashes between different local actors, Libya has also witnessed the expansion of the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

The Religious Endowments Ministry distributed a leaflet to mosques on Monday that instructs imams to prohibit participation in protests on January 25 during Friday sermons. The leaflet quoted a fatwa issued by Dar al-Iftaa that says protesting on that day violates Islam and is forbidden in accordance with Islamic teachings.

Islamic State’s territory shrank by 40 percent from its maximum expansion in Iraq, and by 20 percent in Syria in 2015, as international forces pushed it out of several cities, the U.S.-led coalition fighting it said on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from the hardline Islamist group on the estimates from the coalition, made up of countries including Britain, France and Jordan that have been bombing its positions.

North Sinai security forces killed 32 militants and arrested six suspects in the context of the "Martyr's Right" military operation in the towns of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, said the army spokesman Tuesday. The Egyptian army undertook the first phase of the security operation in Northern Sinai last September. The first phase of the operation lasted for 16 days and the army announced that it will begin the second phase.

Islamic State's territory shrank by 40 percent from its maximum expansion in Iraq, and by 20 percent in Syria in 2015, as international forces pushed it out of several cities, the US-led coalition fighting it said on Tuesday.

An attack by Islamic State militants on Libya’s Es Sider oil export terminal on Monday killed two guards and set an oil storage tank on fire, a Petrol Facilities Guard source said.

Egypt's Court of Cassation overturned on Monday a life sentence handed to Muslim Brotherhood chief and spiritual guide Mohamed Badie over violence-related charges in an appeal session, ordering a retrial.

Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and 13 other group leaders were granted retrial on Monday over charges of instigating the murder of nine opposition protesters outside the organization’s headquarter, the Guidance Bureau, in 2013.

The Islamophobia Observatory of Dar al-Iftaa condemned Monday Chinese authorities for preventing the Azan (call to Muslim prayers through mosque microphones) and preventing children from entering mosques in Xinjiang Chinese territory.

Fans of Islam Beheiry protested outside the South Cairo Court on Monday as the court considered a challenge by the media host, who was sentenced to one year in prison over blasphemy charges.

Iran's president Sunday condemned the Saudi execution of a Shia cleric but also denounced attacks on the Sunni kingdom's embassy and consulate as "totally unjustifiable" after protesters stormed the compounds.