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Military officials in Peru say rebels have killed five army officers in the jungle region of Junin, some 300km (190 miles) east of the capital, Lima.
Five other soldiers were wounded in the night time ambush in an area where Shining Path rebels operate.
Remnants of the Maoist movement are now thought to be allied with drug traffickers in Peru’s coca-growing heartland.
Syrian forces pounded opposition hubs in the cities of Aleppo and Homs on Friday, according to news agency and Al Arabiya reports, adding that regime forces battled fighters around Damascus.
On the ground, violence was also reported in other towns and villages across the country, with the bloodletting showing no signs of any let-up a day after the United Nations formally called time on its observer mission.
At least 157 people were killed across Syria by security force gunfire so far on Friday, according to the Local Coordination Committees activist group.
A wave of attacks across Iraq killed at least 53 people on Thursday amid warnings that insurgents would mount deadly attacks ahead of the end of the holy month of Ramzan.
Officials reported more than a dozen explosions and shootings in 15 cities and towns nationwide that also left more than 250 people wounded as Iraqis readied to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival.
The latest unrest takes the overall death toll from violence this month to 178.
A prominent left-wing blogger has published what is claimed to be an outline of Israel’s attack plan against Iran. Richard Silverstein, on his blog Tikun Olam, has posted a report that is based, according to Silverstein, on a briefing document prepared by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Silverstein’s blog is known for breaking news banned for publication in Israel due to military censorship.
According to the post, Israel has set out a four-step plan for its attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, if and when the cabinet gives military commanders the green light.
Activists said Syrian troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles stormed a rebel-held district in the battered Aleppo city in northern Syria on Monday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces rolled into the western part of the Saif al-Dawla neighbourhood of Aleppo, adding that the army units were backed with tanks and armored vehicles.
It said that clashes with rebel fighters have erupted in the area.