HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 16 Taliban rebels including a suspected would-be suicide bomber were killed in US-led and Afghan operations across insurgency-plagued Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.

RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas Islamists on Monday to agree to early elections and to open a “new page” by ceding control of the Gaza Strip and holding reconciliation talks with his Fatah faction.

GAZA – Hamas and Fatah fighters waged gun battles in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday that raised to seven the number of people killed in the deadliest clashes between the rival Palestinian factions in months.