MOSUL, Iraq  – In Iraq’s most violent province, where al Qaeda and a medley of insurgent groups are making a last stand, an election in two days could help bring peace or stoke fresh conflict between Arabs and Kurds. Iraqis vote on Saturday for the first time since 2005 in …

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama will press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to extend government control beyond the capital and fight corruption in a new U.S. policy that will have a “significant non-military component,” a White House official said on Wednesday. The White House is conducting a review of all aspects …

BRUSSELS  – NATO-led forces killed nearly 100 civilians in operations against militants in Afghanistan last year, the alliance said on Wednesday, while blaming insurgents for the deaths of 10 times that number. Civilian casualties have eroded public support for President Hamid Karzai’s government and foreign troops backing it. It has …