Sunday, August 31, 2014
Iraqi security forces backed by Shiite militias and U.S. airstrikes have reportedly entered the northern town of Amerli, where Islamic State militants have laid siege to the town for weeks, prompting fears of a sectarian massacre.
Reuters and BBC report that Iraqi Army and volunteer fighters entered the town on Sunday after defeating the Sunni rebels, also known as ISIS or ISIL, east of the city. The Islamic State, which claims to enforce a pure version of Islam, has apparently targeted Amerli because of its large Shiite Turkmen population, seen by them as apostates.
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Somaliland forces seized Sool region town of Saah Dheer after heavy fighting erupted in the early hours of Thursday morning according to officials, Garowe Online reports.
Somaliland armed forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Ismael Shaqale confirmed to BBC Somali service that they took over Saah Dheer in clean-up operation.
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Saturday, August 30, 2014
Filipino UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights who earlier had defied demands from Syrian rebels to surrender had figured in a clash Saturday morning in Syria, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday. He added in a text message to reporters that Filipino troops had been “extricated” from one of their two positions and that another group of Filipino soldiers “is now under attack.”
He was referring to two positions on the Golan Heights where more than 70 Filipino troops had previously been surrounded by Syrian rebels.
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Lesotho’s prime minister has fled the country, after a military coup was launched earlier today.
Prime minister Tom Thabane told the BBC World Service that has left the country, after receiving threats to his life.
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Friday, August 29, 2014
Kurdish Peshmerga security forces fighting militants from the al-Qaida inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). (AP)
Kurdish Peshmerga forces say they have retaken oilfields near Mosul in north Iraq from Islamic State (IS) militants.
The attack on the three Ain Zalah installations began on Thursday morning, they said, but the militants blew them all up as they retreated.
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