Over 30 Christians were beheaded in a series of recent attacks in northern Mozambique by Islamic State-affiliated terrorists who also released graphic photographs showing executions, shootings and widespread arson. The group targeted multiple villages across Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, setting fire to churches and homes in a campaign of violence against civilians.

The Islamic State Mozambique Province, or ISMP, released a 20-image photoset this week, documenting its operatives executing civilians by beheading and close-range gunfire, and burning down homes and churches, MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) reported.

The group claimed responsibility for several attacks throughout the last week of September, including last Thursday’s beheading of two Christians in Chiure-Velho, Chiure District.

ISMP operatives also claimed last Friday’s raid on Nacocha village in Chiure District, where a Christian was shot and killed, and two churches were burned. The same day, they attacked Nacussa village, also in Chiure, and set fire to two more churches.

On Sunday, fighters raided Macomia Town, killing four Christians and looting their belongings before withdrawing without casualties, according to ISMP’s statement.

On Monday, ISMP said its operatives beheaded a Christian in Macomia District. The following day, the group reported an assault on Nakioto village in Nampula Province’s Mimba District, burning over 100 Christians' homes and one church. In nearby Minhanha village, in Memba District, they reportedly destroyed one church and 10 homes. The group said its members returned safely to their bases after the raids.

The Defense Post report quoted one resident as saying that gunmen entered the neighborhood around 8 p.m., killing four and kidnapping four others, including a woman and her two daughters. Another said a young man was shot dead after refusing to surrender his father’s belongings.

The violence is part of an escalation that has displaced tens of thousands of civilians and prompted a renewed security alliance between Mozambique and Rwanda, according to ADF Magazine.

On Aug. 27, Mozambique’s Defense Minister Cristóvão Artur Chume and Rwandan Defense Minister Juvenal Marizamunda signed a Status of Force Agreement in Kigali to extend the Rwandan Defence Force’s deployment in Cabo Delgado.

ISMP reportedly conducted attacks across six districts in September, from Balama in the southwest to Mocímboa da Praia in the north, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. In a rare assault on Mocímboa da Praia on Sept. 7, fighters reportedly moved door to door identifying victims. This marked only the second such attack on the town since September 2021.

Mozambican and Rwandan military leaders met in Pemba on Sept. 12 to evaluate joint operations. Rwanda’s defense authorities stated that the meeting aimed to assess progress in stabilizing the most affected northern regions and agreed to intensify coordinated efforts to restore peace. ISM had previously launched simultaneous attacks in northern and southern Cabo Delgado in July, with 60 fighters entering Ancuabe and Chiure districts unopposed.

An August update from ACLED described the group’s movement into Chiure as a tactical expansion rather than a retreat. The report noted that the militants’ propaganda campaign had successfully maintained their presence in public perception, even as earlier in the year, the United Nations estimated ISM’s strength had dropped from 2,500 fighters to 280.

Rwandan troops, first deployed to Cabo Delgado in July 2021, have been supporting Mozambique in counterinsurgency operations since.

According to an August update by Grey Dynamics, the Islamic State has been staging operations from the central districts of Cabo Delgado and pushing offensives southward, encountering little resistance along the Macomia–Awasse highway. Mozambique’s Defense Minister admitted recent operations had failed to contain the insurgents.

The violence had forced the displacement of at least 50,000 people from Chiure district in recent weeks, said the update. Abductions and forced recruitment had also been reported during raids on remote villages.

Doctors Without Borders suspended operations in Mocímboa da Praia following the violence and launched an emergency response to assist thousands of displaced people now sheltering in camps across Chiure, The Associated Press reported. The U.N. migration agency said over 46,000 people were displaced in just eight days in late July, with nearly 60% of them children.

The Mozambican insurgency, active since 2017, has led to the deaths of at least 6,200 people.

The ongoing conflict also halted TotalEnergies’ $20 billion natural gas project near Palma in 2021 after militants attacked the area, killing over 800 people. A lawsuit was filed against the French energy company in 2023 by subcontractors and victims’ families.

The U.N. estimates that more than 1 million people in northern Mozambique have been displaced since the conflict began, due to a combination of militant violence, prolonged drought and extreme weather events.