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IS claims responsibility for attack that killed 33 Syrian troops, and vows to keep fighting

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an ambush in eastern Syria that killed and wounded dozens of soldiers as opposition activists said the death toll rose to at least 33 as some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries.

The attack is among the deadliest to be carried out this year by the extremists. IS sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in Syria in 2019. The group once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq where they declared a caliphate in 2014.

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Blasts rock pro-Iran missile stocks in Syria

Violent explosions were heard from missile stockpiles of pro-Iran militias east of Syria's capital Damascus before dawn on Sunday, a war monitor said.

Residents of the Damascus region heard the blasts which came from "the warehouses of pro-Iran militias" in a mountainous area east of the capital, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.

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UAE's al-Jaber urges more financing to help fight climate change

The head of this year's U.N. global climate summit has urged more availability of funds to fight climate change in the Caribbean during a regional meeting in Barbados.

Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates' minister of industry, noted that high costs have prevented island nations from quickly adopting renewable energy as they face what he said was some of the world's harshest climate impacts.

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Military commander,3 others killed in suspected Qaida attack in southern Yemen

A suspected al-Qaida attack in southern Yemen has killed a military commander and three soldiers from a secessionist group, according to the group's leader, security officials, and an eyewitness.

Commander Abd al-Latif al-Sayyid and the three soldiers from the Security Belt Forces, a fighting group loyal to Yemen's secessionist Southern Transitional Council, were killed in an explosion while traveling in a convoy through southern Abyan province, three security officials and the witness said.

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Palestinian President Abbas fires nearly all governors in West Bank in major upheaval

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has fired most of the governors in the occupied West Bank, responding to long-standing demands for a political shake-up as frustration grows with the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority.

Abbas issued a decree dismissing the governors of eight provinces under Palestinian administration in the occupied territory. The upheaval included the restive northern cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem, the focus of a recent surge in Palestinian militancy that has undermined the authority's leadership. Only three areas — including Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority — retained their governors. The president's office said that he would form a committee to suggest replacements.

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Israeli army raid in northern West Bank kills Palestinian militant

The Israeli military stormed into a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, sparking a firefight with Palestinian gunmen and killing a Palestinian man, medics said.

The raid into the Tulkarem refugee camp was the latest deadly Israeli military operation into Palestinian cities and towns following a monthslong surge of violence that has escalated regional tensions, highlighted the weaknesses of the Palestinian Authority and helped fuel rising militancy in the restive occupied territory.

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IS attack on bus kills 23 Syrian soldiers

At least 23 Syrian soldiers have been killed in the conflict-torn country's east in an attack on an army bus blamed on Islamic State group jihadists, a monitor said Friday.

IS "members targeted a military bus" in Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as remnants of the jihadist group escalate their attacks.

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Six Turkish troops killed in northern Iraq

At least six Turkish soldiers were killed during clashes with outlawed Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, the Turkish defence ministry said on Thursday.

The soldiers were killed by fire from "the separatist terror organisation", it added, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.

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Tunisia, Libya to share responsibility for migrants stranded on border

Tunisia and Libya announced Thursday they had agreed to share responsibility for providing shelter for hundreds of migrants stranded at their border, many of them for over a month.

The migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, had been driven to the desert area of Ras Jedir by Tunisian authorities and left there to fend for themselves, according to witnesses, rights groups and U.N. agencies.

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Israeli settler accused of involvement in killing of Palestinian moved to house arrest

An Israeli settler suspected of involvement in the killing of a 19-year-old Palestinian man in the West Bank last week was released from detention and transferred to house arrest, a Jerusalem court said.

The Israeli judge said there was insufficient evidence to extend the detention of the radical Jewish settler, Elisha Yared. The court also ordered a second Israeli settler accused of shooting and killing the 19-year-old Qusai Matan to remain in custody while being hospitalized for wounds sustained during the attack last Friday on the Palestinian herding village of Burqa.

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