A U.S. soldier was killed and two wounded Tuesday in an operation in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where Afghan troops are battling to push back Taliban insurgents, U.S. and NATO officials said.

Saudi Arabia’s regional allies have stepped up diplomatic pressure on Iran, breaking or downgrading relations with the country following an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which followed executions in the kingdom.

Three Sunni mosques in Iraq have been bombed and partially destroyed while at least two people have been killed in suspected retaliation for the execution of a Shia leader in Saudi Arabia, officials and police say.

Israeli forces on Monday destroyed the east Jerusalem homes of two Palestinians who killed four Israelis in one of the deadliest days in the recent surge in violence.

Saudi Arabia has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with Iran following Saturday’s attack on its embassy in Tehran during protests against executions in the kingdom.

Israeli public prosecutors filed Sunday indictments against two Jewish settlers for the murder last summer of a Palestinian family — including an 18-month-old child — in an arson attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

IRAN – TORBAT-E-JAAM: Mawlana Abdullah Rahimi, the rector of ‘Taleem-ul-Qur’an’ seminary of Salehabad city, Khorasan province passed away on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015.

Shaikh Abdol-Hamid urged on the unity of Muslims in the ongoing circumstances in the closing session of the 29th international unity conference held in Tehran, calling on the unity of states that is the first step towards the unity of nations.

Saudi Arabia has executed 47 “terrorists”, according to the interior ministry, including Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda-affiliated Faris al-Zahrani.

Israeli jets have launched air strikes in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said, just hours after rockets from the enclave hit southern Israel.