BAGHDAD / AP Iraqi officials hailed on Wednesday the progress achieved by government troops on the second day of a military operation aimed at dislodging IS militants from a key area north of the capital, Baghdad. On Tuesday, Iraqi troops, backed by aerial support and paramilitary forces, launched a new push to retake a sprawling desert area outside the central …

Irbid / AP Seven men killed in armed clashes with Jordanian special forces had ties to the IS extremist group and had planned attacks on military and civilian targets in the kingdom, the country’s intelligence service said on Wednesday. The deadly confrontations, sparked by an arrest raid, took place late Tuesday in the northern city of Irbid. The men killed …

Beirut / AFP More than 1,700 civilians have been killed by Russian air strikes in Syria since Moscow’s air campaign began five months ago, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. “Since September 30, Russian air strikes have killed 4,408 people including 1,733 civilians,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The civilian toll included 429 children and 250 women. …