Pope Francis arrived in northern Iraq on Sunday, where he planned to pray in the ruins of churches damaged or destroyed by Islamic State extremists and celebrate an open-air Mass on the last day of the first-ever papal visit to the country.

An officer in the Helmand police chief's office who wasn't authorized to speak with media said the attack targeted the female officer, whom he identified only as Malala.

Syrian opposition groups and at least one war monitor blamed Russia for the strike Friday night near the towns of Jarablus and al-Bab, near the border with Turkey.

The insurgent group Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

A British-Iranian woman held in an Iranian prison for five years on widely refuted spying charges ended her sentence on Sunday, her lawyer said, although she faces a new trial and cannot yet return home to London.

Analysis

From the genocide of Iraq's Yazidis to Syrian state-sponsored torture and the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the German legal system is increasingly a place to seek justice for crimes committed far outside Germany's borders.

Pope Francis and Iraq's top Shiite cleric delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence Saturday, urging Muslims in the war-weary Arab nation to embrace Iraq’s long-beleaguered Christian minority during a historic meeting in the holy city of Najaf.

A suicide car bombing killed the Afghan intelligence directorate's chief prosecutor Saturday, an official said, amid in increase in violence in the war-ravaged country.

Angry protesters have blocked streets and highways across the country with burning tires for days, as the Lebanese pound slid to record new lows.

Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller on Friday marked 915 days as head of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, making him the longest-serving commander of America’s longest war.

Al Asad’s Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) missile defensive system “engaged” with the incoming rounds, and early assessments indicate it hit three or four of the 122 mm rockets.

At least 10 rockets rained down on Asad Air Base in Anbar province housing U.S. and coalition forces in western Iraq, the Pentagon said.

U.S. Central Command released two minutes of unclassified drone footage Monday that it had provided to the news program showing the attack at al Asad.

ANALYSIS

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spent much of his election campaign in 2018 denying he was a military stooge. Yet after suffering a shocking loss in parliament this week, he turned to the nation's powerful army chief.

A federal judge in Virginia has tentatively scheduled a January 2022 trial for two Britain militants charged with being part of an Islamic State group that tortured and beheaded American and European hostages in Syria.

An army helicopter crashed in eastern Turkey on Thursday, killing 11 military personnel on board and injuring two others, the Defense Ministry said. News reports said a high-ranking officer was among the victims.

Even small explosions — ones unlikely to cause concussions or injuries — change the molecular structure of the brain, a study says.

Israel's defense minister said his country is upgrading contingency plans to strike Iranian targets if Tehran shows signs of nuclear escalation, the latest sign of rising tensions between the two archenemies.

An Army staff sergeant in Kuwait last week reenlisted against the backdrop of two widely recognized American symbols: the stars and stripes and the golden arches.

The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog.

The drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has encouraged the Taliban’s belief that they are closer than ever to victory, analysts and fighters said, one year after a peace deal was signed.

Pope Francis urged Iraqis on Friday to treat their Christian brothers as a precious resource to protect, not an “obstacle” to eliminate as he opened the first-ever papal visit to Iraq with a plea for tolerance and fraternity among Christians and Muslims.

A sudden, mid-flight change of weather conditions is thought to be the cause a helicopter crash which killed 11 military personnel in eastern Turkey, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

Analysis

In Iraq, two decades of back-to-back conflicts have left ancient Christian communities that were once a vibrant and integral part of the landscape scattered and in ruins.

The U.S. airstrike on an Iranian-back militia compound in Syria caused three casualties, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman said Monday.

No injuries of U.S. service members have been reported from Wednesday's attack, but an American civilian contractor suffered a “cardiac episode” while taking shelter and later died.

The man, who has Afghan citizenship, was described by Swedish media as an asylum-seeker whose residence permit had expired last year. The suspect, who was not identified under Swedish rules and who faces seven counts of attempted murder, denied any wrongdoing.

In Iraq's holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions.

At least seven Afghan civilians were shot and killed by a group of gunmen overnight in the country's east and a physician died when a bomb attached to her rickshaw exploded on Thursday, provincial officials said.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a Saudi oil facility in the port city of Jiddah on Thursday amid their campaign of drone and missile attacks on the kingdom, though satellite pictures showed no new apparent damage at the site.

Yemen's Iran-backed rebels on Wednesday warned that the U.S. sanctions imposed the previous day on two of their military leaders would only prolong the conflict in the improvised Arab country.

Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been struck by coronavirus outbreaks, authorities said Friday, with both returning to port in Bahrain.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week.

“The United States has not historically sanctioned the leaders of countries where we have diplomatic relations or even some where we don’t have diplomatic relations,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it intercepted a missile attack over its capital and bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province, the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on Yemen's rebel Houthis.

The airstrike on facilities in Syria used by Iranian-backed militias was to prevent future attacks on Americans and allies in Iraq, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman said Friday.

The International Criminal Court on Wednesday launched an investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, turning the tribunal’s focus toward Israeli military actions and settlement construction on lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

From a purely epidemiological standpoint, as well as the public health message it sends, a papal trip to Iraq amid a global pandemic is not advisable, health experts say.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the COVID-19 wards are overstretched, testing centers are as busy as ever and new lockdown measures have been announced.

Last week, a blast struck the cargo ship in the same waterway, raising alarms about ship security in the Mideast. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Israel's regional foe Iran of attacking the ship. Iran swiftly denied the charge.

Iran began restricting international inspections last week, but under a last-minute deal worked out during a trip to Tehran by Rafael Grossi, the head of the Vienna-based U.N. atomic watchdog, some access was preserved.

Senior Republican senators called on President Joe Biden to keep the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran, joining some Democrats who have voiced reservations about the agreement.

The suit concerns 2013 attacks in Douma and the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. It is the second such effort in Europe in recent months seeking accountability in chemical attacks.

The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on two rebel leaders in Yemen, citing their alleged roles in cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

An international media rights group has filed a complaint with German prosecutors against Saudi Arabia's crown prince and four other top officials accusing them of crimes against humanity over allegations they were involved in the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

An Israeli military court has sentenced a prominent Palestinian lawmaker to two years in prison in a plea bargain that convicted her of belonging to an outlawed group. But the court found insufficient evidence to press more serious charges against her, the army said Tuesday.

An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed off on the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a U.S. intelligence report released Friday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday that Biden used his constitutional authority to defend U.S. personnel.

Analysis

The strike appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East and it comes even as Washington and Tehran consider a return to the 2015 accord.

Rival groups have been blamed for atrocities since Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with anti-government protests that morphed into a civil war.

A United Nations appeal for aid to Yemen to alleviate the world’s worst humanitarian disaster raised some $1.7 billion Monday— a result the U.N. chief called “disappointing.”

The Biden administration said Sunday it remains open to talks with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal despite Tehran's rejection of an EU invitation to join a meeting with the U.S. and the other original participants in the agreement.

The Russian Defense Ministry said a Russian Mi-35 helicopter made an emergency landing for technical reasons while patrolling Hassakeh province.

The stark warning comes a day before a pledging conference co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland. The U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will appeal for $3.85 billion in relief aid for Yemen this year.

An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubai's port for repairs Sunday, days after the blast that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Heavy fighting between rebels and government forces in Yemen's oil-rich Marib has killed at least 27 people, tribal leaders and security officials said Firday, amid a resurgence of violence in the area.

Israel has said 27-year-old Ahmad Erekat intentionally rammed his car into a guard booth at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, and that troops killed him in self defense.

Shamima Begum was one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015. She resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria and told reporters she wanted to come home, but was denied the chance after former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship.

Three family members of an assassinated journalist in western Afghanistan have been killed by gunmen, local officials said Friday, amid a rising wave of attacks targeting journalists and civil society actors.

Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Nelson argued on appeal that his sentence was “inappropriately severe,” in light of the nature of his misconduct and 12 years of meritorious military service.

One militiaman was killed and a number of others were wounded in the airstrikes, an Iraqi militia official told The Associated Press on Friday.

Three decades have passed since a devastating Iraqi missile strike on the 14th Quartermaster Detachment that changed the lives of 43 members of the Army Reserve water purification unit who were wounded, and the families of 13 soldiers who died in the attack.

Libyans ousted a dictator, but an ensuing civil war has drawn in Russia, Turkey and others with a thirst for control.

The eight deaths last year bring to 99 the number of American troops who have died while taking part in the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS since it began a little over six years ago.

A civilian contractor was killed and a U.S. service member was injured when rockets fell on the airfield where U.S. and coalition forces are based in the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region Monday, the military said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the Pentagon is conducting a detailed review of how U.S. forces are positioned around the globe to ensure resources are focused on national security priorities.

No U.S. troops have died in combat in Afghanistan for a year as of Monday, but the Taliban have threatened to target them again if Washington opts to keep international forces in the country after a May withdrawal deadline.

As the year ends, we pay tribute to the 10 American service members who died in Afghanistan in 2020.

An American woman who helped her husband and brother-in-law join the Islamic State in Syria by smuggling cash and gold overseas has been sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty to financing terrorism.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over the weekend called the carrier and its strike group home, a report said.

After drawing down to 4,500 troops this fall, the number of U.S. forces in the country is expected to be further reduced to 2,500 in January. Some have said that cut, ordered by President Donald Trump this month, could leave a security vacuum.

A leading rights group on Thursday accused Libyan authorities of failing to bring suspected war criminals to justice for their alleged role in crimes against humanity since 2011.

The German government is preparing the way for the country's troops in Afghanistan — the second-biggest contingent in a NATO force — to stay in place until next year if needed.

ANALYSIS

The Biden administration is expected to release an unclassified intelligence report as soon as Thursday establishing that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, directed the killing of the dissident U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Sunday marks the longest span between U.S. combat deaths of the nearly 19-year war in Afghanistan, even while fighting continues between the Taliban and U.S.-allied Afghan government forces.

The Turkish government accused Greece's military Tuesday of harassing a Turkish research vessel in the Aegean Sea and said Turkey's military had responded to the alleged intimidation.

Armenia's prime minister accused top military officers on Thursday of attempting a coup after they demanded he step down, adding fuel to months of protests calling for his resignation following the country's defeat in a conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Israel's attorney general on Thursday said a plan by the prime minister to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of friendly nations has been frozen while he determines whether the move was legal.

A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation's undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos shows.

The commandos for hire who landed in Benghazi in June 2019 had arranged to procure every weapon and tool – including drones, inflatable speedboats, night-vision goggles, a mobile command center, gear for jamming enemy communications and AH-1F Cobra helicopters – needed for an assault on Libya's government.

Turkish police have detained a suspected Iraqi Islamic State group militant and rescued a 7-year-old girl from Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority he had allegedly been holding captive, the state-run news agency reported.

The findings by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Portsmouth in England counter decades of understanding by the military and Department of Veterans Affairs about potential causes for a host of ailments that collectively are now known as Gulf War illness.

Staff Sgt. Anthony Bermudez, 28, from Dallas, Texas, died after being injured in a vehicle accident in Kuwait.