US slashes troops, missile batteries from Middle East

The Taliban have captured their sixth provincial capital in four days — including a city where German troops were stationed for a decade. Now, some want the Bundeswehr to go back in, but the defense minister says no.

Lately, repentant Boko Haram members, accompanied by their families, have been surrendering to the Nigerian military. Many have been asking “why the sudden surrender” by these Boko Haram members. Here are the reasons why they have been ‘surrendering’ to Nigerian troops.

The Taliban's victory in Afghanistan could raise the morale of various Islamist extremist groups. Analysts believe that this will lead to new alliances and an increased danger of terrorist attacks.

A car bomb hit a convoy in the Mopti region before being followed by a hail of bullets. Islamic extremists are believed to behind the attack.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hails a mission "unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes" after the UK airlifted over 15,000 people from Afghanistan over the last two weeks. The UK on Saturday flew out the last of its military from Afghanistan, concluding its pullout, but the government faces criticism as hundreds eligible for relocation remain behind.

The United States has completed its evacuation mission, allowing the Taliban to take full control of Kabul airport. The departure comes almost exactly 20 years after the US and allied troops invaded Afghanistan.

The hardline Islamist Taliban celebrate their total return to power with gunfire after the last US troops flew out of Afghanistan to end two decades of war. Images posted by Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the Chief of Taliban multimedia branch, cultural commission, show the Taliban entering Kabul airport after US forces abandoned the frenzied airlift that saw more than 123,000 people flee life after the group's takeover.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemns the presence of foreign troops in Syria at talks in Moscow with the war-torn country's President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has been a key ally of the Assad regime throughout the Syrian conflict, which erupted in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests. Russia's military intervention in 2015 helped turn the tide of the war in Assad's favour.

Political changes in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey mean Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties are facing a crisis. A decade after the Arab Spring, insiders say its time to reboot political Islam.

South Korea's ministry of defence releases footage of a successful a submarine ballistic missile launch, making the country the seventh in the world with the advanced technology and raising the prospect of a regional arms race. The test, supervised by President Moon Jae-in, comes hours after nuclear-armed North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, according to the South's military, and as China's foreign minister visited Seoul.

Warsaw has accused Minsk of an "organized storming" of its borders after four people, apparently refugees, were found dead. Poland is sending 500 additional troops to the region.

Capable of traveling more than five times the speed of sound, a new generation of missile systems are being designed for speed, stealth and surprise. Russia is already working on developing its own weapons system.