An Iraqi official says that the U.S. handing control of what was once the heart of the bloody Sunni Arab insurgency to the Iraqi government reflects a dramatic drop in violence across the country …
… but the redeployment of only 1,500 troops raises concerns that Taliban offensives in Afghanistan are over-extending US forces.
- U.S. Marines Shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan   (Christian Science Monitor)
As lawyers demand reinstatement of chief justice, insurgents and police targeted in attacks.:
- Pakistan Rocked by Renewed Violence and Angry Demonstrations (Guardian UK)
Crowds of people have welcomed home the passengers and crew who were hijacked on a plane diverted to Libya:
India struggles with bad press in the face of the death of Imran Ahmad Wani, and now of two hostages …
- The Families Grieving in Kashmir  (BBC)
- Kashmir Police Kill Suspected Rebels in Shootout (Washington Post)
… as they continue to use violence to suppress an increasingly non-violent demand for independence:
- Peaceful Protests In Kashmir Alter Equation for India: Tough Response Criticized as Outmoded (Washington Post)
An armed group in Somalia has released the local UN refugee agency chief who was seized in June near Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, the refugee agency said.
- Armed Somali Group Frees UN Worker (Al-Jazeera)
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