Besides being the province where the armed struggle for independence began almost 60 years ago, Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique was perhaps best known previously for its pristine beaches; and more recently for the promise of the vast natural gas deposits discovered offshore.
Over the past five years, however, an Islamic State-linked group locally known as al-Shabaab (with no known links to the Somali Islamist group) has been conducting attacks targeting civilians as well as public and military infrastructure across the province. Aid and conflict-monitoring
