TEHRAN -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday its air defense has struck a U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon and an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's southern airspace.
Making the announcement in a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the U.S. fighter jet and drone were hit during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division against heavy industries belonging to the United States and Israel. (Iran-IRGC-US Fighter Jet)
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SANAA -- Yemen's Houthi group signaled readiness for further military action on Saturday, framing its recent military strikes on Israel as "legitimate right" to confront what it called "brutal American-Israeli aggression" against Iran and the wider region.
In a statement, the group's foreign affairs authority said that its intervention was part of a broader regional strategy tied to Iran, Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon.
It accused the United States and Israel of advancing "a Zionist plan threatening the region and aimed at establishing a so-called Greater Israel and a new Middle East," and called on the Islamic countries to unite. (Yemen-Houthis-Military intervention)
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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday briefed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Islamabad's ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at creating a conducive environment for peace talks amid escalating regional hostilities, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
During a telephone conversation lasting over an hour, the two leaders held extensive discussions on the evolving situation in the Middle East and ongoing efforts to restore peace, according to the office. (Pakistan-Iran-Talks)
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ANKARA -- Türkiye said on Saturday it has detected 275 "suspicious objects," including mines and drones, in the Black Sea since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.
"Of these, 10 were identified as mines, eight as kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 11 as kamikaze unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). All identified threats were successfully neutralized by underwater defense teams," the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Following the outbreak of the conflict, the Turkish navy has continuously carried out reconnaissance, surveillance, patrol and disposal operations targeting mines, USVs, UAVs, and unexploded ordnance in the Black Sea, the statement said. (Türkiye-Black Sea-Suspicious Objects)
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MANILA -- Five police officers were killed Saturday night in an attack in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur province, in southern Philippines' Mindanao island, said local authorities.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, quoting the Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the officers were onboard a police mobile patrol vehicle when they were ambushed by unidentified suspects. (Philippines-Ambush-Police) ■
