WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Envoys of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dismissed criticism of his political crackdown and appealed on Monday to the United States to back their country as an ally against Islamic extremism.

GAZA (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike killed three Hamas militants and wounded another in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian medical workers and Hamas said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s Interior Ministry will have the power to arrest foreign guards involved in shooting incidents if parliament approves a bill ending foreign security firms’ immunity from prosecution, the minister said on Monday.