Turkish special forces backed by coalition air support launched an incursion into Syria in the early hours on Wednesday to take the town of Jarabulus from the Islamic State (IS) group, Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

Turkish tanks crossed the border into Syria in what officials are calling operation “Euphrates Shield”, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stating on Wednesday that his forces would be targeting “terrorist groups like Daesh (IS) and PYD,” referring to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party, whose military wing the People’s Protection Units (YPG) continue to make military gains in northern Syria.

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Kurdish militias and Syrian government forces are fighting for control of the northeastern city of Hasakah.

The two sides once worked together to combat ISIL, but now the Syrian government is accusing the Kurdish militias of seeking to divide the country. The Kurds, on the other hand, accuse the government of having a secret understanding with Turkey against them.

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Abubakar Shekau and other senior officials were hit by Nigerian ‘air force raid’.

The Nigerian army says that it “fatally wounded” the leader of Boko Haram during an air strike targeting a meeting of the Islamist group’s commanders, local media reported.

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Israel launched air strikes on Beit Hanoun, a city on the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip, the army and police have said. It came after militants in the Gaza strip fired a rocket at the Israeli border town of Sderot on Sunday (21 August).

The rocket landed in a residential area in Sderot. However, it did not cause any injuries or damage.

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Somalia’s al-Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombs in the country’s Puntland region.

More than 20 people were killed on Sunday when the bombers detonated the explosions at a market and government building in the semi-autonomous territory.

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At least 51 people were killed and dozens were wounded when a suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives among people dancing on the street at a wedding party in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep on Saturday, security and hospital sources said.

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The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have recaptured the control of the key Khanabad district in northern Kunduz province.

According to the security sources, the control of the district was retaken following hours of clashes since this morning when the Taliban militants captured some key government compounds.

The sources further added that the Taliban insurgents were forced to retreat after the Afghan forces launched an operation to retake the district.

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