Middle East

NAIROBI, Kenya—A suicide bomber detonated in a restaurant in the Somali town of Baidoa and another blast struck a hotel nearby, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 30 wounded, authorities said Oct. 13. Most of the casualties were caused by the bomber who walked into the restaurant with explosives strapped around his […]

KABUL, Afghanistan—A motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated at an election rally in northeastern Afghanistan on Oct. 13, killing at least 14 people, including civilians and security forces, officials said. Khalil Aser, spokesman for the provincial police chief in Takhar province, said 32 others were wounded when the explosives-laden motorbike parked near the rally in Rustaq […]

Turkish officials have audio and visual evidence that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured and killed inside the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, according to multiple reports. An unnamed source told CNN that foreign intelligence, which received a briefing on the evidence from Turkish officials, found the material “shocking and disgusting.” Khashoggi, a vocal critic of […]

A pro-government newspaper in Turkey said they have identified a 15-member intelligence team allegedly involved in the mysterious disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Daily Sabah published images and security video of the so-called “assassination squad” as they entered the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul where Khashoggi—a prominent Saudi journalist and regime critic—was last seen entering […]

AMMAN—Jordan said on Oct. 9 more talks with Syria were needed before an important border crossing shut for three years as a result of its neighbor’s war could reopen to serve regional trade. The closure of the Nassib crossing in 2015 cut a crucial transit route for hundreds of trucks a day transporting goods between […]

The U.S. State Department has called on Saudi Arabia to conduct a “thorough” probe into the mysterious disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose case sparked international concern over the kingdom’s apparent crackdown on dissent. Khashoggi, a regime critic and prominent journalist in Saudi Arabia, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Officials in Turkey […]

The killing of an Instagram model has shocked Iraqis after a spate of suspicious deaths of high-profile women in the past few weeks. Tara Fares was shot dead in broad daylight last week by an unknown gunman, while driving her luxury Porsche convertible in the Baghdad neighborhood of Camp Sarah. CCTV footage showed the car […]