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Islamist rebels clashed Monday with Syrian government forces in the province of Quneitra, close by the Israeli- controlled Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The observatory said in a statement that fighting continued throughout the day between Syrian army units and insurgents including the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliated group.
Ukrainian forces were given orders to retreat from the airport in Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city, in the face of an intensifying assault, Ukrainian National Security Council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said on Monday, blaming the assault on “professional artillery gunmen of the Russian armed forces.”
Russia consistently denies allegations that it has sent troops or equipment into Ukraine. But Lysenko said Monday that “not less than four battalions and tactical groups of the Russian armed forces are active in Ukraine.”
Islamist rebels blew up a car bomb on Sunday at a national-intelligence site in Somalia’s capital where suspected militants are held, and gunmen then attacked the site, officials and the rebel group said.
Seven militants were killed in the attack and in fighting at the Mogadishu facility, according to an intelligence officer, who asked that he be identified only as Nur. He gave no details on casualties among the security forces, if any.
Iraqi security forces backed by Shiite militias and U.S. airstrikes have reportedly entered the northern town of Amerli, where Islamic State militants have laid siege to the town for weeks, prompting fears of a sectarian massacre.
Reuters and BBC report that Iraqi Army and volunteer fighters entered the town on Sunday after defeating the Sunni rebels, also known as ISIS or ISIL, east of the city. The Islamic State, which claims to enforce a pure version of Islam, has apparently targeted Amerli because of its large Shiite Turkmen population, seen by them as apostates.
Somaliland forces seized Sool region town of Saah Dheer after heavy fighting erupted in the early hours of Thursday morning according to officials, Garowe Online reports.
Somaliland armed forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Ismael Shaqale confirmed to BBC Somali service that they took over Saah Dheer in clean-up operation.
Filipino UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights who earlier had defied demands from Syrian rebels to surrender had figured in a clash Saturday morning in Syria, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday. He added in a text message to reporters that Filipino troops had been “extricated” from one of their two positions and that another group of Filipino soldiers “is now under attack.”
He was referring to two positions on the Golan Heights where more than 70 Filipino troops had previously been surrounded by Syrian rebels.
Lesotho’s prime minister has fled the country, after a military coup was launched earlier today.
Prime minister Tom Thabane told the BBC World Service that has left the country, after receiving threats to his life.