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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Smith reporting.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has formally declared victory over the Islamic State in Mosul. He spoke from Mosul's Old City. In a speech carried on state television, Abadi said the win is a victory over oppression, brutality and terrorism. He said, "I declare in Mosul, from Mosul, to all people the stop and failure and collapse of the terrorist Islamic State." Abadi said following the success in Mosul, the country still faces challenges, including destroying Islamic State terrorism cells that still exist in the country and creating stability for the entire nation. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the battle and 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. Vast areas of Mosul and the surrounding towns and villages have been abandoned, and many people say they don't feel safe going home. Egyptian police say they have killed six suspected members of the Islamic State in a shootout. Security forces were carrying out a raid Monday on the militants' apartment hideout when the gunfight broke out. All six suspected militants were killed. The abandoned apartment in the southern Egyptian town of Dairut was being used as "an organizational base," according to the Interior Ministry. In a statement on its Facebook page, it said the area was being used to prepare to carry out a series of terrorist operations within the southern provinces. Police say they found a bomb, five automatic weapons and ammunition. You're listening to news from the Voice of America in Washington. The current, seventh round of U.N.-mediated peace talks aimed at ending the long-running conflict in Syria has opened with a sense of cautious optimism that things might be moving in the right direction. Correspondent Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from the site of the talks in Geneva. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says he does not expect a breakthrough in the negotiations, but he says there is a higher potential than has been seen in the past for progress to be made in ending a war he calls the most complex conflict of our time. "I feel that when two superpowers, Russian Federation, which is an ally of President Assad, and the United States of America, agree at that level in trying to make that cease-fire work, there is a strong chance that that will take place." Only sporadic violence has occurred since the truce went into force at midday Sunday. Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva. At least six Hindu pilgrims were fatally shot by suspected militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Monday. The victims were among nearly 50 people traveling on an annual pilgrimage when their vehicle was attacked by what local police suspect were separatists fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday aimed at helping Colombian rebels return to civilian life after a peace deal halted 52 years of guerrilla warfare. The conflict killed over a quarter million people and displaced more than 7 million. Police in the American state of Texas have rescued 12 migrants from a sweltering box truck and charged three people in connection with a case with human smuggling. The rented truck had been parked for hours at a Houston strip mall until passersby heard the people locked inside - 10 men, one woman and a teenaged girl - banging on the truck's walls and crying for help. Following a searing weekend, slightly cooler temperatures and diminishing winds were helping firefighters Monday as they battled wildfires in the western United States and Canada. Early on Monday, the National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings signaling critical conditions over the next 24 hours for regions in at least six western American states. There is more on these and other stories from around the world around the clock at voanews.com. I'm Jonathan Smith in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |