Kabul / AFP Militants linked to IS extremists abducted and killed around 30 civilians, including children, in central Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday, raising concerns about the group’s expanding presence beyond its eastern stronghold. The killings occurred late Tuesday north of Firoz Koh, the capital of Ghor province, with the local government calling it a revenge attack after a …

  Peshawar / AFP A polio worker was gunned down on Wednesday as he was administering vaccines to children in northwest Pakistan, officials said, the latest casualty in the country’s long campaign against the crippling disease. The incident occurred in Jamrud area of the tense Khyber tribal district that borders Afghanistan and was once a haven for Taliban militants, though …

  Diyarbakir / AFP Turkish police clashed with protesters in Diyarbakir on Wednesday, using tear gas and water cannon to prevent them demonstrating against the detention of the Kurdish-majority city’s co-mayors. Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli were taken into custody on Tuesday night in a surprise move against the leaders of a city which has been hit by the renewed fighting …