QUICK HITS

1 Afghanistan death: A U.S. Special Forces soldier who died in Afghanistan this week was seizing a Taliban weapons cache when an explosion occurred, the U.S. military said Friday. Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble, 33, of Washington Township, N.J., was killed Monday and an Afghan service member was wounded.

2 Kazakhstan crash: At least 12 people have died and dozens were injured after a passenger jet from Almaty in Kazakhstan crashed just after takeoff Friday morning, airport management said. The Fokker 100 aircraft, operated by Kazakh airline Bek Air, broke through a concrete wall before hitting a two-story residential building.

3 Hanukkah attacks: New York City is increasing its police presence in some Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations after possibly anti-Semitic attacks during the Hanukkah holiday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. In the latest incident, early Friday, a woman slapped three other women’s faces and heads after encountering them on a Crown Heights corner, police said.

4 Japan deployment: Japan will send defense forces early next year to patrol regional shipping lanes in the Middle East, from which it sources much of its crude oil, the government announced Friday. The deployment will include one destroyer equipped with helicopters and at least one of two P-3C patrol planes currently engaged in anti-piracy operations near Somalia.

5 Young girl dies on flight: A Delta Air Lines flight to Seattle returned to Los Angeles after a girl, believed to be about 10 years old, suffered an apparent cardiac arrest and died on board, authorities announced Thursday. Flight 2423 returned to Los Angeles less than an hour after takeoff, an FAA spokesman told CNN.