Fighters loyal to Libya’s internationally recognised government have seized control of the key western town of Kekla after more than 40 days of clashes with Islamists, both sides said on Monday. A diverse coalition of mainly Islamist militias drove fighters allied with the government from Tripoli in August, after weeks …

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has resigned, U.S. officials said on Nov. 25, ending nearly two years in the Pentagon’s top job after a bruising mid-term election that undermined President Barack Obama’s Democrats in Congress. Hagel, who had struggled to improve his ties with Congress after a contentious 2013 confirmation hearing, …

Some 230 Peshmerga forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been trained by Turkish soldiers so far in northern Iraq, a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official said. Turkey has been providing “subsidiary” military training for the Peshmerga forces and the process will continue for as long as necessary, according to …