Baghdad / AFP The IS group broke through Kurdish defences in northern Iraq on Tuesday and killed an American service member of the US-led coalition fighting the extremists, officials said. The service member, whom the Pentagon confirmed was American, was at least the third killed by enemy fire in Iraq since IS overran swathes of the country in 2014. ...

  Stuttgart / AFP Defence Secretary Ash Carter warned on Tuesday that NATO would defend its allies against Russian “aggression” as he presided over the passing of the alliance’s European command to a new general. Carter said NATO would “keep the door open for Russia” for cooperation on global security challenges if Moscow abandoned its “sabre-rattling”. “But it’s up to ...

  TOKYO / AP North Korea, the world’s last great master of Cold War-era spectacle, is likely to deliver a big one when its ruling party holds its first congress in 36 years later this week. What exactly is in store during the congress, which opens Friday and will be presided over by leader Kim Jong Un, remains a well-kept ...