HANNOVER / AP President Barack Obama on Monday announced the deployment to Syria of an additional 250 US special operations forces to assist local troops who are trying to dislodge IS extremists, significantly broadening the American presence in the war-torn country. The move will bring the number of personnel to roughly 300, up from about 50 special operations forces …

  Kabul/ AFP Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Monday implored Pakistan to battle the Taliban instead of trying to bring them to peace talks, in a new hardline stance after a brazen insurgent attack killed at least 64 people. The assault last Tuesday on a security services office in the heart of Kabul appeared to be the deadliest on the Afghan …

  Istanbul / AFP The Kurdish rebel PKK movement is ready to step up its fight against Turkey in response to Ankara’s blistering military campaign, its leader warned in a BBC interview released on Monday. Since the collapse of a two-year ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) last year, Turkish government forces have been carrying out operations against the …