The leader of the Takfiri ISIL group broke a nearly year-long silence as Iraqi forces closed in on Mosul Thursday, urging his militants to hold their ground. It was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s first statement since Iraqi forces launched a massive operation on October 17 to retake Mosul, where the ISIL ...
Two American soldiers were killed and two others wounded Thursday during operations in the Taliban hotbed of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the latest US casualties as the conflict escalates. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killings, which highlight growing insecurity after the Taliban sought ...
