SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – Eight Kurdish Peshmerga troops and three militant gunmen were killed in a battle northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, a spokesman for the Kurdish forces said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Ear, nose and throat specialist Abu Samir laments that he has only one colleague left to call after an exodus that has robbed Iraq of about 70 percent of its most qualified doctors.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday it had carried out its first visit to security detainees held by Iraq’s central government.