Iraqi security forces killed up to 23 Islamic State (IS) militants in clashes in a rural area in the northern province of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said.

German police arrested on Wednesday four suspected members of Islamic State, all from Tajikistan, believed to have been planning deadly attacks in Germany, prosecutors said.

Hezbollah is stepping up a campaign to place its allies at the heart of Lebanon’s banking system as the US seeks to disrupt the armed group’s financial networks, four senior Arab financiers said on Thursday.