14 civilians killed in six U.S. air raids

Compiled from news services

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military says an internal investigation shows that 14 civilians were killed and one civilian was wounded in six separate U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria between July 2015 and April 2016.

The conclusions were reported Thursday by U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the greater Middle East. Central Command regularly investigates reports of civilian casualties from airstrikes when it finds or is alerted to what it considers credible evidence.

It said the deadliest of the six airstrikes was on April 29 in Mosul, Iraq. The attack targeting an Islamic State leader killed four civilians.

Merkel stands by refugees

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel doubled down on Thursday on her pledge that Germany would achieve what she called the “historic” task of integrating hundreds of thousands of migrants, while defending freedom and democracy against the hate sown by terrorists.

“Today, as in the past, I am convinced that we can do it — to live up to our historic task, which is a historic test in the age of globalization,” she said.

She also deplored two recent attacks by men who had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State: an ax and knife attack in Wurzburg by a 17-year-old refugee who said he was from Afghanistan, and a suicide bombing in Ansbach by a 27-year-old Syrian who had sought asylum in Germany. The two attacks “mock the country that took them in,” the chancellor said.

North Korea: identity thief

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean police said on Thursday that the North’s main intelligence agency had stolen the personal data of more than 10 million customers of an online shopping mall in the South, in what they said was an attempt to obtain foreign currency.

The online mall, Interpark, was subjected in May to an online attack on a server that contained customers’ names, email addresses, telephone numbers and other personal data, the National Police Agency said.

Interpark did not learn about the breach until July 11, when it received an anonymous message threatening to publicize the leak of personal data unless it paid the equivalent of $2.6 billion in South Korea’s currency, the won. After the attack was reported, thousands of Interpark customers threatened to sue for damages. Most of the customers whose data was stolen were South Koreans.

It was unclear on Thursday whether, or how, the hackers had exploited the stolen data, other than in their effort at blackmail.

Anthrax infests Siberia

Temperatures have soared in western Russia’s Yamal tundra this summer. In one of the more unusual symptoms of unseasonable warmth, long-dormant bacteria appear to be active. For the first time since 1941, anthrax struck western Siberia. Thirteen Yamal nomads were hospitalized, including four children, the Siberian Times reported. The bacteria took an even worse toll on wildlife, claiming some 1,500 reindeer since Sunday.

The outbreak is thought to stem from a reindeer carcass, according to NBC News, that died in the plague 75 years ago. As the old flesh thawed, the bacteria once again became active. The disease tore through the reindeer herds, prompting the relocation of dozens of the indigenous Nenet community. Herders face a quarantine that may last until September.