From our news desk:
11 Arrested In Bosnia On Suspicion Of Links To IS
Bosnian police say 11 people have been arrested on suspicions of links to Islamic State.
The suspects were detained in raids in the wider Sarajevo area, including near the military barracks where a gunman killed two Bosnian soldiers in November in a shooting spree that authorities said was an apparent terrorist attack.
"So far 11 individuals suspected of terrorism, financing of terrorist activities and recruiting Islamic State fighters have been arrested in raids on 13 locations," a spokeswoman for the police directorate of Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation said on December 22.
A regional television station reported that around 100 police officers took part in the raids.
Police have said that more than 150 Bosnians have left to fight for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq over the past few years.
Turkey is clamping down on its border with Syria, which has been a "revolving door of refugees, foreign fighters and the smugglers who enable them," the New York Times reports.
Accused by Western leaders of turning a blind eye to these critical borders, Turkey at last seems to be getting serious about shoring them up. Under growing pressure from Europe and the United States, Turkey has in recent weeks taken steps to cut off the flows of refugees and of foreign fighters who have helped destabilize a vast portion of the globe, from the Middle East, to Europe, to San Bernardino, Calif.
The next round of talks aimed at easing the violence in war-torn Syria will be held at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva early next year, UN spokesman Rheal LeBlanc has told AFP.
From our news desk:
Iraqi Troops Storm IS-Held Ramadi
Iraqi forces have stormed the center of Ramadi in a bid to wrest control of the western city from Islamic State militants.
A spokesman for the counterterrorism units said on December 22 that Iraqi forces were advancing to the government complex in the center of Ramadi. Sabah al-Numani also said fighting was taking place in neighborhoods around the complex. Al-Numani also said the Iraqi Air Force was providing support.
The operation to recapture Ramadi, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad, began early last month after a months-long effort to cut off supply lines to the city.
The fall of Ramadi, capital of Anbar Province, in May was a major setback for Iraq's weak central government.
Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of Islamic State fighters entrenched in the center of Ramadi at between 250 and 300.
Britain said this morning that it has sent military personnel to the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand following reports that the district capital Sangin was on the verge of falling to Taliban forces.
Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz has said that Iraqi training personnel are to remain in a military camp near the IS-controlled Iraqi city of Mosul to continue to fight the IS group, the Daily Sabah news website is reporting.
Police in Bosnia have detained 11 people suspected of links with the IS group in Syria and Iraq, AP reports.
Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry has said that it has not yet considered the question of whether to join the Islamic coalition against the IS group proposed by Saudi Arabia.
"Tajikistan is currently thoroughly considering Saudi Arabia's proposal on this matter, and after that a decision will be made," the Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL's Tajik service.
The Foreign Ministry's comments come a day after the pan-Arabic newspaper Asharq Alawsat reported that Tajikistan was considering joining the Saudi-led Islamic coalition.
Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a coalition on December 15.
Reuters has another quote from Sabah al-Numani, spokesman for Iraq's Counter-Terrorism units, who says that there is fighting in the neighborhoods around the government complex in the center of Ramadi.
"Our forces are advancing toward the government complex in the center of Ramadi," Numani said. "The fighting is in the neighborhoods around the complex, with support from the air force."
Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of Islamic State fighters entrenched in the center of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, at between 250 and 300.
Analyst Michael Horowitz has this to say about the Iraq army's push this morning to retake the center of Ramadi from IS militants: IS are likely to put up a tough fight and to have prepared counter-attacks including booby traps.