The Egyptian air force began intensive airstrikes on Thursday morning against a local branch of the Islamic State group in Egyptian Rafah, near the border with the Gaza Strip, local media reported.

Palestinian sources were quoted by the Walla news site as saying that Egyptian fighter jets were entering Gaza’s airspace in their attacks on the Wilayat Sinaa group (formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis), which has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks on Egyptian soldiers and civilians over the last two years.

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The Syrian army, aided by the Syrian air force, continued establishing control over new areas across the country after targeting the terrorist organizations’ positions and hotbeds in many areas, inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment.

Aleppo

The Syrian army air force targeted ISIS positions and movements in the villages and towns of Afash, Deir Qaq, Aisheh, al-Hader and al-Bab in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province.

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Ukraine’s Armed Forces have violated the silence regime over the past day once, a source in the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) told the Donetsk News Agency on Wednesday.

“The enemy has violated the ceasefire regime once over the past 24 hours,” the source said.

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The Arakan Army (AA) Vice-Chief of Staff Col. Nyo Tun Aung said his troops had clashed with government troops in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State from December 27 until 29.

Government troops launched an offensive against the AA stationed at Yamchaung Mountain, 5 miles north of Mahamuni pagoda in Kyauktaw Township.

“We had engagements with them today also. There has been sporadic gunfire today since 7:24 a.m. and then they launched an assault again at about noon. But they could not reach our positions near the Yanchaung mountain range area.” Col Nyo Tun said yesterday.

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Eight members of terror group Abu Sayyaf were killed in an encounter with Army Rangers in the jungles of Patikul, Sulu yesterday.

One soldier was killed in the battle, which also left seven militants and four troopers wounded, Maj. Felimon Tan Jr., spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said.

The latest casualty figure placed at 28 the number of militants killed by security forces in recent weeks when troops began closing in on an Abu Sayyaf camp in Al-Barka town in the neighboring province of Basilan.

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Regime forces seized a military base from rebels in southern Syria on Tuesday and were locked in heavy fighting in a nearby opposition stronghold, a monitor and state media said.

Government troops captured the Brigade 82 base outside Sheikh Miskeen in Daraa province and were clashing with rebels inside the town, state news agency SANA said.

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A suspected suicide attack at a government office in north-west Pakistan has killed at least 22 people, police say.

The bomb went off outside the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office in the town of Mardan.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban said it carried out the attack, which left more than 30 others wounded.

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