A Pentagon spokeman’s statement that members of the Popular Mobilization Committee “have resumed their offensive operations on the ground in Tikrit” is an admission that the Shiite militias are still involved in the fighting.
Shabaab took control of the hotel and trapped several government officials. The al Qaeda branch continues to strike at high-security locations in Mogadishu.
US military commanders are ignoring the presence of Shiite militias in the Tikrit operation, despite the fact that they make up more than two-thirds of fighting force.
Suicide bombing kills 7 in Kabul
Nigeria denies that Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds in northeast
US-led coalition, Iraqis pound Islamic State in Tikrit
Saudi Arabia, allies launch air campaign in Yemen against Houthi fighters
The US has reversed its decision to avoid assisting Iranian-backed Shiite militias and is now providing direct air support in the battle for Tikrit. Many militia leaders and one militia fighting in Tikrit are on the US terrorism list.
Iraq request for US-led Tikrit air strikes 'imminent': diplomat
Islamic State recruits 400 children since January: Syria monitor
Hadi forces check Houthi push towards Yemen’s Aden
Afghanistan and Pakistan: The false promise of rapprochement
Third Tunis Bardo Museum attacker 'on the run'
Syrian army helicopter crashes; crew captured by al Qaeda
Fearing Islamic State, Afghan Shias seek help from Taliban
US military advisors based at Al Anad Air Base have been withdrawn after AQAP briefly took control of a nearby city. The advisors were at the forefront in battling al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen.
Rebels seize key parts of Yemen’s 3rd largest city, Taiz
Afghan intelligence agency says it foiled attempt to kill vice-president
Canadian jury finds two men guilty in plot to derail train
The coordinated suicide assault is the first high-profile attack by the Islamic State inside Yemen.
US has flown 2,320 strikes against Islamic State at a cost of $1.83 billion
Khawray Mehsud served as a bodyguard and close aide to Baitulllah Mehsud, the founder of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. The Taliban said Khawray was a skilled military commander who fought on multiple “fronts” in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Garaar is the fourth senior Shabaab official killed by US forces since September 2014, and the third high-ranking official in the Amniyat killed since December 2014.
US aircraft strike Islamic State drone in Iraq
US likely to delay planned closure of two Afghanistan bases
The photographs show the fighters “graduating from the mujahideen training camps to join their brothers in the battlefronts in order to complete the journey of jihad.”
Syrian army takes control of strategic village north of Aleppo
Gunmen storm Tunisian museum, leaving 19 dead
Islamic State militants kill 10 pro-Tripoli fighters in central Libya
Senior Islamic State commander killed in Libya