Sydney / AFP An Australian man has been killed in Syria fighting IS extremists, the country’s third national thought to have died alongside Kurdish forces, reports said on Monday. Former Australian soldier Jamie Bright, in his 40s, was named on social media as having been “martyred” in recent days. The Kurdish People’s Protection Unit said on its Facebook page …

Antalya / AFP Turkey is offering to “join forces” with Washington for a special operation inside Syria on condition it doesn’t include a Syrian Kurdish militia blacklisted by Ankara but seen as an ally by the US, the foreign minister said. Washington’s support of Kurdish fighters in Syria in the fight against IS extremists has angered Ankara, especially after AFP …

  Baghdad / AP Iraqi forces thrust into the city of Fallujah from three directions on Monday marking a new and perilous urban phase in the week-old operation to retake the extremist bastion. Led by the elite counter-terrorism service (CTS), Iraq’s best trained and most seasoned fighting unit, the forces pushed in before dawn, commanders said. “Iraqi forces entered Fallujah …