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Donald Trump has said “many” ISIS terrorists have been killed in caves by US airstrikes he ordered this morning.

Posting on his social media site Truth Social, the US president said: “This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.

“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies.

“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.”

Mr Trump did not name any of the people targeted in the strikes or give further details about the location.

He said the US military had targeted the attack planner for years, but former president Joe Biden “and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done”.

“I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”

US special forces killed a senior ISIS leader and 10 other militants in a raid on a mountain cave complex in a remote part of northern Somalia in 2023, in an operation ordered by Mr Biden.

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Car driver on ground among dead after Philadelphia plane crash which killed mother and daughter

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Car driver on ground among dead after Philadelphia plane crash which killed mother and daughter

The driver of a car was also killed when a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, the mayor of the US city has confirmed.

All six on board were killed in the crash – a young patient and her mother, on their way home to Tijuana, Mexico, along with four crew members.

At least 19 others were also injured in the crash, which left several homes engulfed in flames.

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Small plane crashes in Philadelphia

The child on board had just completed treatment for a life-threatening condition. The plane crashed around 30 seconds after taking off.

In a news conference on Saturday, Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker confirmed another person had died, who was on the ground in a car when the plane crashed.

She added the number of injured may rise.

Smoke rises above houses after the plane crash in Philadelphia. Pic: AP
Image:
Smoke rises above houses after the plane crash in Philadelphia. Pic: AP

Adam Thiel, managing director for the city of Philadelphia, said there were “a lot of unknowns” as to who was where on the streets when the plane came down.

It would likely be days until the total number of dead and injured was known, he said, adding teams were now going house to house to inspect dwellings as part of efforts to get a sense of how far debris was scattered.

Debris of the aircraft lies on the ground at the site of a plane crash in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., January 31, 2025. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Debris of the aircraft on the ground at the site of a crash in Philadelphia.
Pic: Reuters/Rachel Wisniewski

The plane came down near the Roosevelt Mall in the Rhawnhurst area of Pennsylvania at 6.30pm local time on Friday (11.30pm UK time).

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55, previously said in a statement: “We cannot confirm any survivors.”

Read more from Sky News:
What we know about Washington crash passengers
Second body found in search for missing sisters
Trump hits Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs

Philadelphia plane crash
Image:
The plane crash in Philadelphia.
Pic: @as1lmhsa

On Saturday, in a statement on social media, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the six people who died on board the plane were all Mexican nationals.

The child had received care at Shriners Children’s hospital and was heading to Missouri before flying onward to Mexico.

The crash came just two days after the deadliest US air disaster in a generation.

An American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter collided mid-air in Washington DC, killing 67 people.

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Black Hawk helicopter was on emergency evacuation trial run before Washington DC crash, officials say

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Black Hawk helicopter was on emergency evacuation trial run before Washington DC crash, officials say

The Black Hawk helicopter which collided with a passenger plane above Washington DC was training for a hypothetical evacuation of US leaders at the time, according to US officials.

Three soldiers inside the military aircraft were killed as well as 64 people aboard the American Airlines jet.

The scenario involved practising the evacuation of high-ranking US officials, Reuters reported.

An investigation into the cause of the catastrophe is ongoing.

A Coast Guard vessel with a crane is pictured as it works near the wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter in the Potomac River. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
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A Coast Guard vessel with a crane works near the helicopter wreckage in the Potomac River. Pic: AP

It has emerged that the helicopter had been on a training flight along a route core to a seldom-discussed military mission – to evacuate senior officials to safety in the event of an attack on the US, officials say.

The mission is known as “continuity of government” and “continuity of operations” and is meant to preserve the ability of the government to operate in a disaster scenario.

map of airport and rough location of American Airlines Flight 5342 before the crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Image:
The rough last known location of American Airlines Flight 5342 before the crash

New US defence secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the Black Hawk crew’s training mission on Thursday, saying they “were on a routine, annual re-training of night flights on a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission”.

The army has come under scrutiny for flying at night near a busy airport, but officials pointed to the sensitive nature of the operation.

Read more:
What we know about the passengers
What air traffic audio tells us

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Tracking the Washington DC plane crash

“Some of their mission is to support the department of defence if something really bad happens in this area, and we need to move our senior leaders,” said Jonathan Koziol, the chief of staff of the army’s aviation directorate.

The most recent time the mission is known to have been carried out – for real – was on September 11, 2001, when a Black Hawk was sent to collect then deputy secretary of defence Paul Wolfowitz following the terror attacks on New York and Washington.

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs – amid fears US consumers could suffer

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs - amid fears US consumers could suffer

Donald Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on goods from China.

The expected move raises fears of price increases for US consumers as the American president suggested he would try to blunt the impact on oil imports.

He has been threatening the tariffs to ensure greater co-operation from the countries on stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used for fentanyl.

And he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing.

Analysis by economics and data editor Ed Conway:
Trump’s changed tack to focus tariffs on Mexico and Canada – why?

“Starting tomorrow, those tariffs will be in place,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday.

“These are promises made and promises kept by the president.”

More on Canada

The tariffs carry both political and economic risks for Mr Trump.

Read more:
Trump’s unpredictability takes UK into unknown
Trump’s top team: Who is in – and who could be in?

Many voters backed the Republican on the promise that he could cut inflation, but tariffs could trigger higher prices and potentially disrupt the energy, car, lumber and agricultural sectors.

Mr Trump had said he was weighing issuing an exemption for Canadian and Mexican oil imports.

“I’m probably going to reduce the tariff a little bit on that,” Mr Trump said.

“We think we’re going to bring it down to 10%.”

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The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels from Mexico, according to the Energy Information Administration.

US daily production during that month averaged nearly 13.5 million barrels a day.

China responded aggressively to tariffs Mr Trump imposed on Chinese goods during his first term, targeting the president’s supporters in rural America with retaliatory taxes on US farm exports.

Both Canada and Mexico have said they have prepared the option of retaliatory tariffs to be used if necessary.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday: “We’re ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response.

“It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.”

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Tariffs to focus on Mexico and Canada

Read more:
UK ‘not the target’ of Trump’s tariffs as free trade deal talks could be back on the cards

Mr Trudeau said tariffs would have “disastrous consequences” for the US, putting American jobs at risk and causing prices to rise.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that Mexico has maintained a dialogue with Mr Trump’s team since before he returned to the White House.

But she emphasised that Mexico has a “plan A, plan B, plan C for what the United States government decides”.

“Now it is very important that the Mexican people know that we are always going to defend the dignity of our people, we are always going to defend the respect of our sovereignty and a dialogue between equals, as we have always said, without subordination,” she added.

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the two countries should resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation.

“There is no winner in a trade war or tariff war, which serves the interests of neither side nor the world,” Mr Liu said in a statement.

“Despite the differences, our two countries share huge common interests and space for co-operation.”

Mr Trump also spoke about a plan for tariffs on the European Union without giving specific details.

He told reporters at the White House that he would “absolutely” put tariffs on the bloc, adding “the European Union has treated us so terribly”.

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