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Drone Strike 'Kills Qaida Commander' in Yemen

A suspected U.S. drone strike killed an al-Qaida commander in central Yemen, a security source said on Wednesday.

"Shawki al-Baadani, alias Khawlan al-Sanaani and also Abu Maissara al-Hanki, was left dead by a drone raid" that killed 20 al-Qaida fighters this week in the region of Rada, the source told Agence France-Presse.

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Kerry Condemns Jerusalem Car Attack, Says It 'Only Raises Tensions'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday condemned a deadly car attack in Jerusalem saying it was a "terrorist act" that "only raises tensions" in the tinderbox region.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with Jordan's foreign minister in Paris, Kerry told reporters: "That is not just a terrorist act and an ... atrocity, but it only makes matters worse. It only raises tensions."

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Syria Army Retakes Gas Fields from Jihadists

The Syrian army on Wednesday recaptured two key gas fields and a gas company in central Homs province, less than a week after their seizure by jihadists, a monitoring group said.

"Regime forces and pro-regime militia retook control of the Jhar and Mahr gas fields, as well as the Hayyan gas company in the east of Homs province," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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EU's Mogherini Condemns New Israeli Settler Plans ahead of Visit

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday condemned Israel's plans to build another 500 settler homes in annexed East Jerusalem, ahead of her first visit to the Jewish state later this week.

Going ahead with the new settler homes risks undermining efforts to get the Middle East peace process back on track, Mogherini said.

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U.S. Denies Pressing ex-President Saleh to Quit Yemen

Washington on Wednesday denied reports that it was pressuring Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been threatened with U.N. sanctions for obstructing peace, to leave the country.

Saleh's party, the General People's Congress, said the ex-leader, who stepped down in early 2012 after a year of Arab Spring-inspired protests, received an ultimatum from the U.S. embassy in Sanaa to leave by Friday or face sanctions.

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4 Tunisian Soldiers Killed in Bus Shooting

Four Tunisian soldiers were killed on Wednesday when suspected militants opened fire on a minibus carrying troops, the defense ministry said.

Describing the attack in northwestern Tunisia as a "terrorist operation," ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati said the suspects had escaped but were being hunted down.

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Britain to Send More Personnel to Train Iraqi Forces

Britain will send more security personnel to Iraq to help train forces for their battle against the Islamic State jihadist group, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom, which is supporting U.S.-led air strikes aimed at driving IS jihadists out of significant parts of Iraq, is already training Kurdish forces in the country.

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French-Algerian Killed in Yemen Rebel Shooting

A French-Algerian was killed and another man was wounded Wednesday in a shooting by Shiite rebels who have overrun the Yemeni capital, security and diplomatic sources said.

Both were Salafist students and residents of Sanaa, and "it wasn't French interests that were targeted" in the shooting, said the Western diplomat.

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U.S. Official: Kuwaiti Guantanamo Detainee Sent Home

One of two remaining Kuwaitis held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay was sent home Wednesday after nearly 13 years in detention, a Pentagon spokesman told AFP.

Fawzi al-Odah, 37, boarded a Kuwaiti government plane at 5:30 am (1030 GMT), said Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins. He is the first inmate freed since late May, bringing the total number of detainees at the prison on a U.S. naval base in Cuba to 148.

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Jordan Recalls Envoy to Israel over Mosque Clashes

Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday and moved to file a U.N. complaint after police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians inside the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Israel's recent actions at the compound were "way beyond the limits."

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