GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel said early Friday it has completed a series of airstrikes on targets linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza after overnight rocket fire that rattled a day-old truce. The Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers, who kept to the sidelines of this week’s fighting,...
Gaza Truce Appears Holding Despite Sporadic Rocket Fire
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A cease-fire between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza appeared to be holding Thursday despite sporadic rocket fire, after two days of intense fighting that killed at least 34 Palestinians, including three women and eight children, and paralyzed parts of Israel. Before the truce...
Israel Hits Gaza Amid Rocket Fire, Palestinian Deaths Rise
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes pounded Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza on Wednesday and militants resumed rocket fire toward Israel after a brief overnight lull, as the death toll rose to 23 Palestinians, including a 7-year-old boy and two other minors, in the heaviest round of fighting in...
Israel Kills Islamic Jihad Leader, Setting off Fierce Clash
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel launched airstrikes Tuesday against two senior Islamic Jihad commanders, killing one in Gaza but missing another in Syria in a sharp escalation of Israel's regional conflict with Iran, which backs the Palestinian militant group. The attack led to retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza and...
Iran Denies Trump Claim That US Destroyed Iranian Drone
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Friday denied President Donald Trump's claim that a U.S. warship destroyed an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf in another escalation of tensions between the two countries less than a month after Trump nearly launched an airstrike. The Iranian military said all its drones had...
Airstrike Hits Libyan Detention Center, Killing 44 Migrants
BENGHAZI, Libya — An airstrike hit a detention center for migrants near the Libyan capital of Tripoli early Wednesday, killing at least 44 people and wounding dozens of others in an attack that the U.N. human rights chief said could amount to a war crime. The Tripoli-based government blamed the...
Trump: Strikes on Iran 'Cocked and Loaded,' Then Called Off
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. was "cocked and loaded" to retaliate against Iran for downing an unmanned American surveillance drone, but he canceled the strikes 10 minutes before they were to be launched after being told 150 people could die. Trump's tweeted statement raised several questions, including...
AP Interview: Iraqi Militia Leader Wants US Troops to Leave
BAGHDAD — The leader of one of the most powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq said Monday that he expects a vote in the coming months by Iraq's parliament calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, underscoring the jostling for power between Iran and the U.S. in this key Middle...
US Conducts 6 Airstrikes Against Somalia Extremists, 62 Dead
NAIROBI, Kenya — Six U.S. airstrikes that killed more than 60 people in a coastal Somali town were pre-emptive strikes to prevent a major extremist attack, according to a Somali intelligence officer. The U.S. military said Monday it carried out four strikes on Dec. 15 in which 34 people were...
Opposition to War in Yemen Grows. How Will Trump Respond?
WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected an effort Thursday to block $300 million in weapon sales to Bahrain, but there's growing unease in Congress about the U.S. role supporting the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's military campaign in Yemen. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., forced the vote to send a message to President Donald...