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Latest updates:

11:58 American fighting with Kurds killed in ISIS battle

An American fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in Syria has been killed in battle, authorities said Wednesday, likely the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside them against the extremists.

Keith Broomfield of Massachusetts died June 3 in a battle in the Syrian village of Qentere, which is near the border town of Kobani, said Nasser Haji, an official with a group of Kurdish fighters known as the YPG. He had joined the YPG on Feb. 24 under the nom de guerre Gelhat Raman, Haji said.

Haji did not elaborate on the circumstances of Broomfield's death, nor did he know the man's hometown.

State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke confirmed Bloomfield's death, but declined to provide any details about the circumstances. He said the U.S. was providing consular assistance to his family. (AP)

9:45 P.M. Two suicide car bombings targeting police kill 18 in Iraq

Two suicide car bombings targeting police in Iraq killed 18 people Wednesday amid the country's war against the Islamic State group, authorities said.

Police said the first attack took place when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the checkpoint in Baghdad's northern district of Shulla, killing three police officers and six civilians. Officials said the blast wounded at least 22 people.

Later on, another suicide car bomber attacked a police base in Garma east of the city of Fallujah in Anbar province, killing nine police officers and wounding 10, authorities said. Two police officials said the bomber in the attack used an Iraqi army vehicle seized earlier by Islamic State group, though no group immediately claimed either attack.

Medical officials in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. (AP)

8:38 P.M. Obama not ruling out other steps against ISIS, U.S. officials say

U.S. President Barack Obama has not ruled out taking additional steps to fight Islamic State after deciding to increase U.S. trainers in Iraq by 450 troops, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The troops in Iraq's Anbar province will help with mission command, intelligence, and protection at the site, officials told reporters on a conference call, adding that their presence will improve U.S. ability to turn around air strikes. (Reuters)

8:00 P.M. Obama orders deployment of up to 450 more U.S. troops to Iraq

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered the deployment of up to 450 more U.S. troops and establishment of a new training base in Iraq's Anbar province to help rebuild Iraqi forces in preparation for a battle to retake territory lost to Islamic State.

The plan to expand the 3,100-strong U.S. contingent of trainers and advisers in Iraq marks an adjustment in strategy for Obama, who has faced mounting pressure to do more to blunt the momentum of Islamic State insurgents. (Reuters) Read full article

4:25 P.M. Turkish PM to convene security meeting over Kurdish unrest

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet with the head of the armed forces and other top security officials on Thursday to discuss unrest in the mainly Kurdish southeast, a source in his office said.

The head of the pro-Kurdish opposition HDP accused the government on Wednesday of deliberately standing aside while violence grew in the region after election that saw the HDP enter parliament and the ruling AK Party lose its majority. (Reuters)

4:15 P.M. Thousands flee Syria to Turkey as Kurds fight ISIS

Thousands of people crossed from Syria into Turkey on Wednesday to flee a battle pitting Islamist insurgents against Kurdish and opposition forces for the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad.

A Reuters photographer at the scene said many of them were women and children and they had entered Turkey through a make-shift border crossing between official gates. Turkish gendarmerie officers oversaw the transfer, he said.

"There are 2,000 people today that are being processed," a Turkish official said, explaining that they undergo registration and health checks before being allowed to enter.

"They are escaping coalition bombardments as well as YPG advancement," he said, referring to the Kurdish militia and U.S.-led coalition giving aerial support to Kurds.

Local media had reported a buildup of refugees waiting to cross in recent days.

The Turkish official said since last week 6,837 people were admitted in the area, and 86 of them were Iraqi nationals. (Reuters)

3:55 P.M. Suicide bomber targets ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Wednesday just steps away from the ancient Egyptian temple of Karnak in Luxor, a southern city visited by millions of tourists every year, security and health officials said.

No tourists were killed or hurt in the late morning attack.

The attack — the second this month at or near a major tourist attraction in Egypt — marks an escalation and a shift in tactics in a campaign of violence waged by Islamic militants against the government of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, with the extremists shifting from their focus on hitting security forces to targeting Egypt's vital tourism industry.

Shortly after Wednesday's explosion, police exchanged fire with and killed two suspected Islamic militants who had arrived at the sprawling, Nile-side temple together with the suicide bomber, the security officials said. Four people, including two policemen, were wounded in the exchange, according to the Health Ministry in Cairo. (AP)

3:30 P.M. Egypt's inflation spikes in May

Egypt's core annual inflation rate rose to 8.14 percent in May, up from 7.19 percent in April, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Inflation spiked in Egypt after the government slashed subsidies in July, pushing up fuel prices by up to 78 percent. (Reuters)

2:48 P.M. Turkish opposition MP says Erdogan appears open to all coalition possibilities

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan "gave the impression" he is open to all coalition possibilities, a senior opposition lawmaker said after meeting with him on Wednesday.

Deniz Baykal, who headed the Republican People's Party (CHP) until 2010, also told reporters after a two-hour meeting with Erdogan that the president understands the importance of forming a government quickly.

The AK Party, Turkey's biggest party, has a mandate to try and form a coalition to rule after it failed in Sunday's vote to win a majority to form a government on its own. (Reuters)

2:03 P.M. Turkish authorities arrest one suspect in pro-Kurdish rally blast

Turkish police have made one arrest in connection with the explosions at an election rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, DHA news agency reported Wednesday.

Two people were killed and more than 200 wounded after two blasts at a political rally on Friday for the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir, shortly before the weekend parliamentary elections.

The suspect, detained on Sunday, has been charged with intentional homicide and membership in a terrorist organization, DHA cited the state prosecutor as saying.

Details on his motives are not yet known. (DPA)

11:59 A.M. Suicide car bomber attacks near Luxor temple tourist site in southern Egypt

Egyptian officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday morning at the ancient temple of Karnak in Luxor, a southern city frequented by millions of foreign and Egyptian tourists every year.

A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded. Security sources said casualties included bazaar shop owners and police.

They say police have foiled two other suicide attacks also targeting the Nile-side temple, one of the country's main tourist attractions, rivaling the pyramids at Giza.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. (Reuters)

10:49 A.M. Turkish opposition chief accuses government of inaction amid violence in Kurdish southeast

Selahattin Demirtas, head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), accused the government on Wednesday of deliberate inaction amid growing violence in the largely Kurdish southeast.

Three people died in clashes in the southeast's biggest city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday after an Islamist aid group leader was shot and killed. The violence comes just days after a historic election ushered the HDP into parliament and deprived the ruling AK Party of a majority to form a government.

"The prime minister and president are nowhere to be seen. You would think they are waiting to allow the country to slip into civil war so that they can say, 'Look at how valuable the AKP is,'" Demirtas told reporters in comments broadcast live. (Reuters)

4:58 A.M. Obama weighs sending several hundred more U.S. troops to Iraq

The Obama administration is considering setting up a new military base in Iraq's Anbar province and is closing in on a decision to send several hundred more trainers and advisers to help Iraqi forces in the fight against Islamic State militants there, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

While final approval from President Barack Obama is still needed, the modest military expansion in Iraq appeared the likeliest choice among a range of options he is weighing to bolster a struggling Iraq effort against insurgent forces in Anbar in the country's Sunni heartland. (Reuters)

1:33 A.M. ISIS affiliate fires rockets at Sinai airport

Sinai Province, Islamic State's Egypt affiliate, fired rockets on Tuesday at the direction of an airport in Sinai used by UN peacekeeping forces, security sources said, adding that there were no casualties reported.

The group claimed responsibility for the attack on several Twitter accounts linked to it.

Details of the attack were not immediately clear with some security sources saying the rockets fell inside the airport and others saying they fell outside. (Reuters)