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Two PKK Leaders Killed Near Sulaymaniyah

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
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Two PKK Leaders Killed Near Sulaymaniyah

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Two senior Kurdistan Communities Group (KCK) were killed while on Mount Azmar overlooking the city of Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region’s Asayesh (Security) announced on Tuesday following an investigation.

In its statement on Tuesday, the committee said that they were killed in a vague explosion on Oct.15, demanding that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan command provide justifications regarding the incident.

Initially, Sulaimaniyah's security forces labeled it an explosion and did not allow media to go to the scene. On Tuesday, they provided more details, stating that it was a targeted killing of senior PKK members.

“On October 15, 2019, between hours 17:10 to 17:15, two senior cadres of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) named Jameel and Demhat, atop Mount Azmar in a tourist location among civilians, were barbarically targeted,” Kurdistan Region’s Asayesh Agency announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Following “sophisticated and dense investigations” on the “crime scene”, they uncovered the identity of the targeted to be members of the KCK, an umbrella group under which PKK and its affiliated groups fall.

“While they had gone into that area without notifying the relevant authorities of the Kurdistan Region, they were targeted by a Turkish drone while among civilians and in the city of Sulaimaniyah at a tourist location,” added the Asayesh.

The statement called on the legislative and executive regional authorities to clarify the ramifications of the incident and announce them transparently.

PUK spokesman Latif Sheikh Omer stated that the incident has security prospects. Analysts said that the operation has likely been conducted by a grenade that was closely thrown at the two men since the operation can’t be carried out by a drone.

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Arab World

Yemen Army Pursues Houthis Southeast of Hodeidah

Houthi drones downed by government forces. (Saba)
Houthi drones downed by government forces. (Saba)
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Yemen Army Pursues Houthis Southeast of Hodeidah

Houthi drones downed by government forces. (Saba)
Houthi drones downed by government forces. (Saba)

The escalation by the Houthi group on Yemen’s west coast and Taiz entered its fourth day on Sunday, as government forces shifted from containing the attack to pursuing the group’s operatives in southeastern Hodeidah, following the complete liberation of the Hays district.

Meanwhile, battles continued in western Taiz and amid attempts to reclaim positions where the Houthis have made advances.

Field sources said the Yemeni armed forces have captured dozens of Houthis during the fighting. Many are underage. The forces also continued to advance north of Hays towards the al-Garrahi district.

The military is also assessing its positions on the fronts in western Taiz, especially al-Kadha where the Houthi advance is threatening to cut the main supply route between Taiz and al-Mokha cities.

On Saturday, government and joint forces announced the complete liberation of the Hays district. The achievement follows the reclamation of rural areas that had remained under Houthi control for years, despite the initial liberation of the district's center back in 2018. The complete liberation of Hays followed a counteroffensive launched by government forces.

Al-Garrahi

The government advance on al-Garrahi is significant because capturing the district will pave the way for the forces to move on Houthi-held Hodeidah and cut the route connecting the province with Ibb and the Tihamah regions.

The Houthis have been regrouping to counter the government advance from Hays towards southeastern Hodeidah, said the field sources.

In western Taiz, fighting continued on the Jabal Habashi front, particularly in the al-Kadha area where the Houthis managed to achieve a field breakthrough during the offensive, a development that now threatens the main road connecting Taiz city and the coastal city of Mokha.

Government forces are working to reassess the situation in preparation of pursuing the Houthis and reclaiming the positions they captured, while also stabilizing defensive lines and preventing the group from expanding the scope of its advance.

The forces had made advances in the Haifan front in southeastern Taiz on Saturday. The area overlooks Houthi supply routes leading to northwestern Lahj and southern Taiz.

On Sunday, the Houthi fired three ballistic missiles on civilian facilities. No casualties were reported, said local sources.

The militants also continued their sniper attacks in residential areas in western Taiz, wounding a woman and three children in the al-Kadha and Rahba areas.

Arab World

Germany Seeks to Quash Gaza Genocide Case at Top UN Court

An overview of the court during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) filed by Nicaragua against Germany over the financial and military aid that the European country provides to Israel and the lifting of subsidies to the aid organization UNRWA, in the Hague on April 8, 2024. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP
An overview of the court during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) filed by Nicaragua against Germany over the financial and military aid that the European country provides to Israel and the lifting of subsidies to the aid organization UNRWA, in the Hague on April 8, 2024. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP
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Germany Seeks to Quash Gaza Genocide Case at Top UN Court

An overview of the court during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) filed by Nicaragua against Germany over the financial and military aid that the European country provides to Israel and the lifting of subsidies to the aid organization UNRWA, in the Hague on April 8, 2024. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP
An overview of the court during a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) filed by Nicaragua against Germany over the financial and military aid that the European country provides to Israel and the lifting of subsidies to the aid organization UNRWA, in the Hague on April 8, 2024. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen, AFP

Germany will Monday ask the top United Nations court to toss out a case brought against it by Nicaragua, which has accused Berlin of "facilitating genocide" with its support of Israel.

Lawyers for Germany will kick off four days of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court based in The Hague that rules on disputes between countries, reported AFP.

The case dates back to 2024, following the start of Israel's offensive in Gaza. Nicaragua urged ICJ judges to impose emergency measures to force Berlin to halt all aid to Israel, in particular military equipment.

The court threw out Nicaragua's request in April of that year, saying "the circumstances, as they now present themselves" did not justify emergency orders.

The case is nevertheless ongoing and Germany is now seeking to have it removed, either by persuading judges they do not have the power to rule in the case or that Nicaragua's argument does not stack up.

Berlin has filed so-called "preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and to the admissibility of certain claims" presented by Nicaragua, according to an ICJ statement.

The detail of Berlin's case has not yet been made public.

- Genocide claim -

After Germany presents its case on Monday, Nicaragua will respond before both countries get another chance to address the court on Wednesday and Thursday.

It takes on average six months for the court to hand down a ruling in such cases.

The court could either side with Germany and throw out the case completely or rule against Berlin, meaning the case would then be considered "on the merits" in more detail.

During hearings at the court in April 2024, Nicaragua said Germany was "pathetic" to provide aid to Gaza while also simultaneously furnishing Israel with weapons.

Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, told the court: "Germany seems not to be able to differentiate between self-defense and genocide."

Germany retorted that Nicaragua's case was "grossly biased", strongly denying the accusations that it was in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the deadly October 7, 2023 attacks against it by Hamas militants.

Due to its Nazi past, Germany has placed Israel's security "at the core" of its foreign policy, its representative told the court in the 2024 hearings.

Germany said its arms trade with Israel was subject to "detailed scrutiny... that far exceeds the requirements of international law".

This procedure is separate from a high-profile case also before the ICJ, in which South Africa has accused Israel of perpetrating genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies.

The ICJ's rulings are binding but it has no power to enforce them.

For example, it has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, a demand that has fallen on deaf ears in the Kremlin.

Arab World

Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanese Town Kill 11

Smoke and flames rise as Israeli forces demolish homes in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, southern Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Smoke and flames rise as Israeli forces demolish homes in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, southern Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
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Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanese Town Kill 11

Smoke and flames rise as Israeli forces demolish homes in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, southern Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Smoke and flames rise as Israeli forces demolish homes in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, southern Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Israeli strikes ‌on a southern Lebanese town early on Monday killed at least 11 people including two children and two medics, Lebanon's state news agency said. 

Israel has intensified its bombardment of south Lebanon in recent days despite a June ceasefire that was meant to halt fighting between the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. At least seven people were killed in Israeli strikes on Sunday. 

Just after midnight, Israeli warplanes hit a residential building ‌in the ‌town of Kfar Rumman in ‌southern ⁠Lebanon, killing nine people including ⁠two children, and wounding five more, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. 

A separate Israeli drone strike on a civilian vehicle in the town killed two medics inside the car, it said. 

The strikes on the town came without an online evacuation warning from the ⁠Israeli military. The Israeli military did ‌not immediately respond to Reuters' ‌questions on the strikes, including whether it was aware of ‌the presence of medics and children at the strike ‌locations and why no evacuation warning was issued. 

A spokesperson for the Israeli military issued a separate evacuation warning just after 2:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT on Sunday) for areas ‌around a building in another town in southern Lebanon where it said it ⁠would strike ⁠Hezbollah facilities. 

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 people since Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on March 2 — two days after the start of US and Israeli strikes on Iran — triggering an Israeli air and ground offensive. 

The ceasefire saw violence decrease dramatically, but Israeli troops occupying swathes of southern Lebanon have continued razing villages in the self-declared security zone. Israel's military has continued carrying out strikes both within the zone and to its north, mostly without evacuation warnings.