20 civilians killed in Aleppo airstrikes
Beirut — Renewed airstrikes killed at least 20 civilians as they fled government advances in Syria’s besieged eastern part of Aleppo Tuesday, opposition groups reported as troops continued to target the enclave controlled by rebel groups. The United Nations said up to 16,000 people have already been displaced in recent days of fighting.
Government forces pushed their way into a new neighborhood on the edge of the rebel-held areas to the east, near the Aleppo airport road, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based Observatory and government allied media reported pro-government troops were also battling opposition fighters on the western edge of government-controlled Aleppo, seeking to secure the areas and repel opposition fighters from them.
Iraqi forces attack Islamic State areas
Haj Ali, Iraq — Iraqi forces assaulted Islamic State-held villages across dusty fields south of Mosul on Tuesday, where suicide car bombers and snipers caused some two dozen casualties in a blatant reminder that militants still hold ground far from the main battlefield.
Several hundred fighters from the army and state-sanctioned Shiite militias massed in the nearby village of Haj Ali for the assault, firing mortars at Islamic State positions in the rural villages of Shayala Abali and Shayala Ayma, 56 miles from Mosul.
A day earlier, Iraqi army troops took a mostly abandoned village, al-Qasar.
3 dead, 14 ill after Thanksgiving meal
San Francisco — San Francisco Bay Area health officials warned the public Tuesday to throw out any leftovers from a community Thanksgiving meal they suspect killed three people and sickened at least 14 people.
Officials are still trying to determine what specifically caused the illnesses, but they appear to have narrowed the source to a church-sponsored meal held at the American Legion hall in Antioch, Calif.
The free, community meal is an annual event that this year turned tragic. Thursday’s feast hosted by the Golden Hills Community Church served 835 people, including residents of assisted living facilities, homeless people and anyone who wanted a holiday meal, health officials said.
Fire at girls dormitory kills 12 in Turkey
Istanbul — A fire at a middle school dormitory for girls in southern Turkey left 12 people dead and 22 injured Tuesday night, a Turkish governor and state-run media said.
Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtas said one teacher and 11 students were killed in the fire in the town of Aladag and the wounded were taken to a hospital, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, which described the building as a middle school dormitory for girls.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Demirtas said the dormitory had 34 people and the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem. No one was left in the building, he said.