BEIRUT / AP US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday cut the main road between the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which is controlled by the IS group, and the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, which is partially held by IS, as they press against the extremists’ territory in Syria. But despite the fresh blockade on the Raqqa-Deir el-Zour road, IS …

  PESHAWAR / AP Militants attacked several Pakistani military posts in tribal regions along the Afghan border, killing six soldiers, the army said on Monday. Pakistani troops repulsed the attackers, who had crossed overnight from Afghanistan into the Mohmand tribal region where three military posts were ambushed, the army statement said. It added that 10 of the attackers were believed …

  KUALA LUMPUR / AP Malaysia is protecting its “sovereignty and dignity” by expelling the North Korean ambassador, the prime minister said on Monday, as relations between the countries unraveled further over the poisoning of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader. North Korea announced shortly before the deadline for its ambassador to leave Malaysia on …