The government of moderate Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad promised Monday to pay full salaries to tens of thousands of civil servants for at least six months, but also warned that employees cooperating with the Islamist Hamas will be cut from the payroll.

The US military on Monday accused Iran for the first time of a direct role in an attack killing American troops in Iraq, saying it helped direct a sophisticated raid in January in which five soldiers died.

Thousands of Palestinians left stranded on the Egyptian side of the border since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip will be allowed to cross through the Kerem Shalom crossing Tuesday and return to Gaza following an agreement between Israel and Egypt.