At least four soldiers and nine militants were killed during an operation on Saturday in Pakistan’s restive tribal region where the army is fighting a major offensive against Taliban insurgents.

Pakistan’s military said the incident took place in the Pre Ghar area on the border between North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

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Tunisian security forces have killed five suspected Islamist militants in the mountains near the central town of Gafsa, officials say.

The operation is ongoing, an interior ministry spokesman told AP news agency.

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Fighters from the Somali militant group al-Shabaab have stormed two hotels in the capital, Mogadishu on Friday evening, leaving several people dead, officials say.

According to witnesses, at least four fighters armed with assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade attacked Hotel Wehelie, which is situated in the popular strategic road of Makka al-Mukarama. It was timed to happen just after sunset and at the same time that many people were in the hotels to break the fast.

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A large contingent of Ethiopian troops has crossed into Somalia, reports from Gedo region indicated Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses in Dolo town, 450 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, told the media that the troops proceeded to Luq, about 100 kilometres away.

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Yemen’s warring factions on Thursday agreed to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire set to begin on Friday night, United Nations envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said, according to Reuters.

The pause in the fighting will last about a week until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with the goal of allowing the delivery of assistance to some of the 21 million Yemenis in need.

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