"If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong. Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers. We will be more forthright in the defence of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our people safe."

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will pledge further economic support to Burma, providing that the Burmese regime does more to protect ethnic groups and holds fair elections next year, during a visit to Berlin by President Thein Sein.

Nigeria and its neighbours have met to discuss the rapid advance of Boko Haram in the country’s northeast, amidst fears of increased regional instability.

Foreign ministers from Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger were joined by officials from the US, Britain, France, Canada, the African Union and the UN, in the one-day meeting, aimed at reviewing progress of earlier meetings, Nigerian officials said on Wednesday.

The meeting would examine "the extent of foreign assistance, including efforts by the Nigerian government, in the continued fight to … rout the Boko Haram insurgency", the Nigerian foreign ministry said, according to The Guardian.

Somalia has offered members of al-Shabab amnesty, a day after a US air strike, which may have killed the leader of the militant group.

Members have been given 45 days to surrender to authorities, in order to be reintegrated into society, a statement by the government said.

US troops landed at the site soon after the strike, which was targeted at the leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, and took away bodies after a fierce gun battle, reported the BBC Somali Service.

Militants from Boko Haram have captured the strategic town of Bama, the second biggest town in Borno state in Nigeria’s north, local residents told BBC Hausa.

Thousands of civilians and Nigerian soldiers are reported to have fled the town after fierce fighting with Boko Haram.

It is feared that the militants’ next target is the state capital of Maiduguri, 70km northwest of the town, according to BBC Hausa’s Mansur Liman.

Read more here.

Boko Haram last month declared an Islamic caliphate in the areas it controls.

The US military has confirmed it carried out a targeted operation against al-Shabab militants in Somalia.

"U.S. military forces conducted an operation in Somalia today against the al-Shabab network. We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.

A senior Somali intelligence official told AP news agency that the US was targeting the leader of the group, Ahmed Abdi Godane.