Rutba / AFP Iraqi security forces on Tuesday regained full control of a western town that was attacked by IS group militants two days earlier, officials said. Seeking to draw attention away from an offensive to retake the city of Mosul, IS struck the town of Rutba in the country’s west and Kirkuk in the north in recent days. “Our …

  Mogadishu / AFP A Shabaab suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an African Union military base in central Somalia on Tuesday, a security official said. The explosion was followed by heavy gunfire at the Djiboutian base in the city of Beledweyne. Witness Ismail Mahad described seeing “clouds of smoke caused by the heavy blast” followed by “exchange …

  Qaraqosh / AFP Iraqi forces were inching to within striking distance of eastern Mosul on Tuesday as defence chiefs from the US-led coalition met in Paris to review the offensive on the extremist bastion. Paramilitary forces were also massing near the battlefield to open a western front they say will aim to retake the town of Tal Afar and …