Witnesses in Somalia say at least three people have died and several have been wounded in mortar and grenade attacks in the capital city of Mogadishu.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged her Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul during talks in Washington not to take military action against Kurdish rebels in neighboring Iraq.

Some 1,500 police officers in Iraq's Diyala Governorate and the mayor of the provincial capital, Ba'qubah, have been fired.

Iraqi officials say U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed about 250 alleged militants who were purportedly planning to attack Shi'ite Muslims during the religious festival of Ashura.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today to address the security situation in Afghanistan and the threat posed by the resurgence of Taliban militants.

Iraqi officials say five people were killed and several others wounded in suicide bombings in northern Iraq Wednesday.

Somali government officials are reporting four new U.S. airstrikes in southern Somalia, in areas where Islamist fighters are believed to be hiding.

There were more clashes Tuesday between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. VOA's Jim Teeple reports at least five Hamas militants were wounded in the fighting, which came just three days after Palestinian factions agreed to a truce.

Iraqi soldiers backed by U.S. forces battled gunmen in central Baghdad today.