BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a rare public appearance, welcomed five Lebanese freed from captivity in Israel on Wednesday after his guerrilla group returned the bodies of two captured Israeli soldiers.
Read More »Hezbollah delivers remains of two Israeli soldiers
LEBANON/ISRAEL BORDER (Reuters) – Hezbollah handed the bodies of two Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross on Wednesday to be exchanged for Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in a deal viewed as a triumph by the Lebanese Shi’ite guerrilla group.
Read More »Turkish military says killed 11 Kurdish militants
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish soldiers have killed 11 Kurdish guerrillas in an operation in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, Turkey’s military said on Wednesday.
Read More »Two suicide bombers kill 23 in Iraq’s Diyala
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Two suicide bombers killed 23 people and wounded 68 at a recruitment centre for the Iraqi army north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi security source said, just days after the government promised a crackdown in the area.
Read More »Gunmen kidnap two Turkish nationals in Afghanistan
HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Unknown gunmen kidnapped two Turkish nationals working on construction project in western Afghanistan on Monday, a senior police official said. Kidnapping has become a lucrative business in Afghanistan, where dozens of locals and foreigners have been abducted by criminals or Taliban-linked militants.
Read More »Fresh Iraq troop cuts hinge on security: Petraeus
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Monday that security conditions would determine whether he makes recommendations for further troop withdrawals in the coming months.
Read More »Obama to deliver speech on Iraq ahead of trip
CHICAGO (Reuters) – White House hopeful Barack Obama will outline his views on Iraq and U.S. national security in a speech Tuesday before a planned trip there, his campaign said. “He will focus on the global strategic interests of the United States, which includes ending our misguided effort in Iraq,” …
Read More »Basra still faces Shi’ite militant threat: general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iraq’s southern city of Basra likely will face new threats of violence from Shi’ite militants who battled Iraqi security forces there during a March government crackdown, a British general said on Monday.
Read More »“Lost” small arms aid Iraq, Afghan militants: study
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Every year hundreds of thousands of small arms go missing and many wind up in the hands of insurgents in countries like Iraq, Colombia and Afghanistan, a new survey published on Monday said.
Read More »Middle East envoy Blair prepares Gaza visit: sources
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Middle East envoy Tony Blair is preparing to travel to the Gaza Strip this week in what would be the highest-level visit by a Western official since Hamas took control a year ago, Palestinian and Western officials said.
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