France arrests seven people suspected of planning militant attack
PARIS France said on Monday it had foiled a possible militant attack after detaining seven people, including some who had been in the ranks of Islamic State in Syria.
Hariri sees obstacles in way of forming new Lebanon government
BEIRUT Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said on Monday his efforts to form a new government faced "stumbling blocks", testing hopes he could quickly steer the country out of its political crisis.
Iraq Shi'ite paramilitaries close to cutting Mosul supply route
TAL AFAR AIR BASE, Iraq Iraqi Shi'ite militias were massing troops on Monday to cut remaining supply routes to Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq, closing in on the road that links the Syrian and Iraqi parts of its self-declared caliphate. | Video
China says would consider Turkish membership of security bloc
BEIJING China said on Monday it was willing to consider any application from NATO-member Turkey to join a Russian and Chinese-led security bloc, after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country could join.
Iran's Guards using Trump victory to claw back power
ANKARA Donald Trump's victory and the war on Islamic State have given Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps what it sees as a unique opportunity to claw back economic and political power it had lost.
Iraqi Shi'ite fighters mass near flashpoint town west of Mosul
TAL AFAR AIR BASE, Iraq Convoys of military vehicles loaded with Shi'ite paramilitary fighters hurtled across desert terrain in northwestern Iraq towards the Islamic State-held city of Tal Afar, chanting religious slogans and covering their faces to keep out the dust.
Amnesty says torture, rights abuses persist in Bahrain despite reforms
DUBAI Torture and other forms of ill-treatment persist in Bahrain despite reforms introduced by the Gulf Arab kingdom to address alleged human rights abuses after a 2011 uprising, Amnesty International said on Monday.
Egypt refers militants charged in Sisi death plot to military judiciary
CAIRO Egypt's public prosecutor has brought before the military judiciary 292 suspected Islamic State militants, some of whom are accused of plotting to assassinate President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
Three children killed in blast in east Libya's Benghazi - hospital official
BENGHAZI, Libya At least three children were killed and 20 people wounded by a car bomb in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday, witnesses and a medical official said.
Iraqi villagers mourn air strike victims as Mosul toll mounts
FADILIYA, Iraq For Saeed Yousef, being rid of Islamic State came at a high price. As Kurdish forces drove militants from his Iraqi village four weeks ago, an air strike by a U.S.-led coalition hit his brother's home, killing the brother and seven relatives, family and local officials say.