The US military says coalition air strikes in Syria and Iraq have killed two Islamic State commanders linked to the attacks in Paris in November, as well as eight
other senior IS figures. Laura Bicker reports from Washington. The operation to degrade and destroy the Islamic group involves hunting down and killing its leaders.
Among them were Charaffe al Mouadan. He's thought to have been close friends of the leader of the attacks in Paris. Another of those killed was Abdel Kader Hakim, a
veteran fighter with specialism in forgery. He's reported to have links to the IS network in the French capital. An airstrike also killed a UK educated Bangladeshi
computer system engineer called Siful Haque Sujan. He's said to have supported IS hacking efforts, their anti-surveillance technology and their weapons development.
Reports from Syria say government forces are mounting their first major offensive for months against rebels in the south of the country. The army says it's recaptured
a military base although rebel sources say they have since regrouped and taken it back. Our Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher reports. This offensive is significant
because it's the first time that government forces have attempted a big assault in the south since Russia started its air campaignin support of President Assad three
months ago. The southwest of Syria is where the original opposition forces who have not been incorporated into Jihadist factions still hold substantial territory. It
was from the main city in the region Dara that the uprising against Mr. Assad started. So far, the Syria army says it has taken back Brigade 82, an army base, but the
rebel sources gave a conflicting account.
A husband and wife have been found guilty in London of planning a massive terror attack on the city to coincide with the anniversary of the deadly bombings on July 7
ten years ago. The man, Mohammed Rehman known as the silent bomber, used social media to ask for suggested targets. The prosecution said that he was just two days away from completing a viable explosive device at his home near London when he was detained. Mohammed Rehman's father said his son was influenced by people he met online. I don't know what happened because he was too much into the computers and someone misguided him. Somebody must have put him on the wrong track.
The white Chicago police officer, who was caught on a patrol car's dashboard camera shooting a black teenager dead, has pleaded not guilty to murder. A wave of protest began after Jason Van Dyke was seen shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. A protest march has been taking place in Cleveland Ohio. Demonstrators there are angry of the decision not to prosecute two white police officers who shot a 12-year-old black boy dead who was playing with a toy gun in a park. Cleveland police said they would review the case. World news from the BBC.
The president of European Athletics Svein Arne Hansen has said he doesn't believe Russia would be ready to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil following last month doping allegations. Russian athletes were suspended from international athletics after a report by the World Anti-doping Agency accused Russia of state level cheating and corruption.
A court in Buenos Aires has given jail sentences to two former Argentine transport ministers after finding them guilty of negligence in a train crash that killed more
than 50 people nearly four years ago. Candace Piette reports. The two former ministers Ricardo Jaime and Juan Pablo Schiavi were were given six and eight years for
negligence. The accident happened at one of Buenos Aires's busiest stations during the morning rush hour. The packed train hit the buffers at around 20 kilometers per
hour. Fifty one people were killed and almost 800 injured. Many had limbs amputated. It was one of the worst train accidents in Argentina for almost half a decade. But
afterwards, the government of Cristina Fernandez renationalized the railways and invested heavily in the network.
Police in Israel have arrested four Jewish men allegedly caught on video celebrating the murder of a Palestinian toddler in a fire bomb attack in the occupied West
Bank. In the video which has gone viral, a group of gun-wading extremists at a wedding party are seen dancing and singing. One man repeatedly stabbed the photo of the toddler who was killed along with his parents in the arson attack in July which was blamed on Jewish settlers. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
condemned the video.
Lebanese customs officials say they have seized more than 3 tons of drugs at Beirut airport. Officials said the drugs, which included Captagon amphetamine pills and
hashish, were concealed in primary school desks that would be shipped to Egypt. BBC news.