Iraq arrests IS finance chief wanted by US: PM

Iraq has captured the alleged finance chief of the Islamic State group, Sami Jasim al-Jaburi, who was sought by the United States, in an operation abroad, Iraqi authorities said yesterday. Jaburi, also the suspected former deputy to the late IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was arrested "in Turkey", a senior Iraqi military source told AFP without elaborating. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi had earlier announced on Twitter that Jaburi was arrested by the intelligence services "outside the borders" of Iraq, in a "complex external operation," without naming the location. It was not immediately clear if Turkish authorities were involved and there was no immediate reaction from Ankara. The US had offered a reward of up to $5 million for the capture of Jaburi.

Tunisia's Saied appoints new govt 11 weeks after power grab

Tunisia's President Kais Saied issued a decree appointing a new government yesterday, 11 weeks after he fired the last one in a controversial power grab amid acute economic and political crises. State television broadcast a swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet headed by Najla Bouden, the North African country's first ever female prime minister. In her first public speech since her nomination, Bouden said yesterday that "the fight against corruption will be the most important aim" of the new government. She also vowed to "raise living standards" of Tunisians and "restore their faith in the state". But Saied has significantly pared back the powers of her office and will technically head the administration himself. The president on July 25 sacked the previous prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers in moves that opponents have termed a coup. Saied, a former legal academic, has repeatedly criticised the constitution Tunisia adopted in 2014 which brought in a mixed parliamentary-presidential system, three years after a revolution that overthrew veteran dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

156 Yemeni rebels killed south of Marib: Saudi-led coalition

More than 150 Huthi rebels have been killed in an operation south of Marib, a major hotspot of Yemen's civil war, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the militants said yesterday.

"The targeting process included the destruction of eight military vehicles, and casualties exceeded 156 terrorist elements," a coalition statement said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The operation took place in Abdiya south of Marib, the internationally recognised government's last outpost in northern Yemen and key to controlling the region's oil wealth. Yemen has been devastated by a seven-year conflict pitting the Iran-backed Huthi rebels against the internationally recognised government supported by a Saudi-led military coalition. The Shia Huthis renewed their campaign to capture Marib last month. The resulting clashes have left hundreds of rebels and loyalists dead. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the conflict flared in 2014 when the Huthis seized Sanaa.