Islamic State stepped up attacks on Iraqi army positions near the border with Syria, killing seven soldiers and wounding 12 in two attacks staged on Sunday and Tuesday, military sources said. Islamic State has been fighting since October a U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, the largest city that fell under its …

US-backed fighters battled the Daesh group on Thursday as they tried to push further into the extremists’ Syrian bastion Raqa, two days after finally entering the northern city. The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters began the battle for the city earlier this week after seven months …

Heavily armed al-Shabaab extremists have stormed a military base in Somalia’s semiautonomous state of Puntland, killing close to 70 people, officials said Thursday. Officials called it the region’s deadliest attack in years, highlighting the twin challenges facing security forces from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab and the growing presence of fighters linked …