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9:35 P.M. Libyan tribes meet in Cairo as Egypt seeks allies against militants

Hundreds of Libyan tribal leaders met in Cairo on Monday with Egyptian authorities hoping to enlist their help in preventing Islamist violence from spilling over their shared border.

Egypt had invited the tribal leaders to talks because they were the "backbone" of society and main guarantor of Libyan stability, security and territorial integrity, Shukri said. "Egypt will not hesitate to support her brother Libyans until they achieve security and reconciliation among themselves," he said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri inaugurated the tribal conference, which runs through Thursday, by highlighting the positive role the tribes could play in restoring stability to Libya.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sees ascendant Islamists in Libya as a major security threat and is trying to secure the cooperation of tribal leaders to tackle it. Analysts say that Sisi would like Arab states to carry out a Yemen-type intervention in Libya to combat Islamic State jihadis and other radical factions that have taken advantage of the lawlessness to recruit and train in the vast desert country. (Reuters)

6:40 P.M. Turkey, U.S. agree 'in principle' to provide air cover for Syrian rebels battling ISIS

Turkey and the U.S. have agreed in "principle" to provide air protection to Syrian rebels being trained and equipped to fight Islamic State militants, once they enter Syrian territory for battle, Turkey's foreign minister said.

The two countries agreed in February to train and equip up to 15,000 Syrians under the $500 million U.S. program designed to add a credible ground force to an air bombing campaign against the militant group.

The program suffered unexplained delays as the U.S. resisted Turkish calls for the force to be also prepared to fight the Syrian regime and the sides tried to reach agreement on who to train.

The U.S. has also refused a Turkish proposal for enforcing a safe area and a no-fly zone in Syria, prompting questions on how trained rebels would be protected when they entered Syria.

"They have to be supported via air," Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister told the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper in comments published Monday. "If you do not protect them or provide air support, what is the point?" (AP)

5:05 P.M. Iraq, Iran push back on U.S. defense chief over Ramadi loss

Iraq and Iran pushed back Monday against U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter's criticisms over the fall of Ramadi to the Islamic State group, with an Iranian general going as far as saying America had "no will" to fight the extremists.

In Baghdad, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister suggested Carter had "incorrect information," while Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds forces in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, offered his own assessment of American forces.

The criticism began Sunday, when Carter told CNN's "State of the Union" news show that Iraqi forces "vastly outnumbered" the Islamic State group, but still "showed no will to fight" and fled their advance on Ramadi.

On Monday, Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said his government was surprised by Carter's comments.

"Carter was likely given incorrect information because the situation on ground is different," al-Hadithi told AP. "We should not judge the whole army based on one incident." (AP)

10:40 A.M. Iran adviser accuses U.S. of letting ISIS seize Iraq's Ramadi

An Iranian newspaper is quoting the chief of an elite unit in Iran's Revolutionary Guard accusing the U.S. of allowing Islamic State to seize the Iraqi city of Ramadi, the latest criticism to follow the fall of the city. Full story

10:32 A.M. Turkey says agrees deal with U.S. on air support for Syrian rebels

The United States and Turkey have agreed "in principle" to give air support to some forces from Syria's mainstream opposition, Turkey's foreign minister said, in what if confirmed could mark an expansion of U.S. involvement in the conflict.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials on the assertion.

The air support would protect Syrian rebel forces who have been trained by a U.S.-led program on Turkish territory, said minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The long-delayed scheme is meant to send 15,000 troops back to Syria to fight Islamic State militants.

Cavusoglu did not go into details on what "in principle" meant or what kind of air power would be provided or by whom.

"They have to be supported via air. If you do not protect them or provide air support, what is the point?," Cavusoglu told the pro-government Daily Sabah during a visit to Seoul.

"There is a principle agreement on providing air support. How it is going to be provided is in the responsibility of the army." (Reuters)

10:00 A.M. Syrian air force targets captured Palmyra city

The Syrian air force carried out some 15 strikes in and around the central city of Palmyra early on Monday, targeting buildings captured by the hardline Islamic State group from the military, a group monitoring the war said.

Islamic State fighters overran the ancient city, the site of some of the world's best preserved ancient Roman ruins, last week and have killed at least 217 people execution-style in the area since May 16 including children, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Reuters)

Syrian government soldiers who were captured by ISIS militants in the Palmyra area, in a picture released on May 24, 2015, by a militant website. (AP)

9:45 A.M. Yemeni politicians say UN peace talks indefinitely postponed

Three senior Yemeni politicians say a United Nations peace conference set to take place at the end of the month has been indefinitely postponed.

The talks, scheduled in Geneva for May 28, were an attempt to reach a political settlement and end the country's armed conflict between Shi'ite rebels known as Houthis and Yemen's embattled internationally recognized government now in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Three officials from Houthi, socialist and unionist parties said late Sunday they were notified about the postponement and that no new date had been set. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Houthis backed the talks, though Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had demanded the rebels withdraw from cities they seized before going to the talks. (AP)