BAGHDAD, Sept 20, 2014 (AFP) - France mounted its first air strike to beat back the Islamic State group in Iraq on Friday, even as jihadists across the border in Syria seized dozens of Kurdish villages in a lightning offensive.
Syrian rebels in opposition-held areas engaged in fierce battles with Al-Qaeda-linked elements Friday in what activists say is growing resistance to the jihadists' brutal grip in many places.
Tehran, YJC. -- Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani condemned Saudi Arabia for upholding the death sentence given to prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and warned Riyadh to change its decision, Fars news agency reported.