Daily Mail: ISIS claim responsibility for attack on Baghdad shopping mall in which 18 people were killed and 50 injured after gunmen detonated car bomb and took hostages* 18 people were killed and hostages taken as violence erupted in Baghdad
* A car bomb was detonated before gunmen opened fire and stormed a mall
* After being approached by Iraqi security agents, they shot three hostages
* Two of the attackers were killed and another four arrested, it is claimed
* Islamic State has now claimed responsibility for the deadly attack
Gunmen killed at least 18 people and took an estimated 75 more hostage after blowing up a car bomb and storming a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad.
After detonating the bomb then opening fire on crowds, the gunmen holed up in the shopping centre in the Baghdad al-Jadida district, amid fears they were wearing suicide belts.
However, Iraqi commandos landed on the roof, where they clashed with attackers inside, killing two and arresting another four.
MIDDLE EAST
At least 51 killed in attacks
in Iraqi capital, eastern town.Iran 'equips, trains'
Syria forces: interior minister.Iran sacks senior security official
over Saudi embassy attack.Arab foreign ministers accuse
Iran of undermining regional security.Iran seeks to limit diplomatic
fall-out from Saudi embassy attacks.Iran disputes UN finding that
it worked on nuclear arms.Death toll in Russian raids
on Syria's Idlib nears 100.Syrian opposition casts doubt on
peace talks after Russian bombing.Aid convoy reaches
starving Syrian town of Madaya.Nearly 400,000 Syrians
go hungry in besieged areas. Madaya Syria: Aid convoy
sets off for besieged town.Bombs laid by Islamic State
hamper Iraqi troops in Ramadi after victory.Saudi-led air strike
targets Yemen hospital: Saba news agency.Masked men attack Saudi intelligence
compound with firebombs: activists.Al Qaeda warns Saudi Arabia
it will pay for executing militants.Islamic State crisis:
Naji Jerf murder suspects held in Turkey.ASIA
Nuclear Pakistan reiterates
backing for Saudis over Iran.Exclusive: North Korea reveals
alleged U.S. prisoner to CNN in Pyongyang.Four-way Afghanistan
peace talks begin. Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, US
seek roadmap to peace. U.S. may send more strategic weapons
to Korean peninsula: South Korea.South Korea says chief nuclear envoy
to meet U.S., Japan, China counterparts.South Korea-Japan ties improve
in wake of North Korea's nuclear test.North Korea holding
U.S. citizen and Canada pastor: CNN.Britons offering protection against pirates
facing five years in Indian jail. India sentences
35 crew of US anti-piracy ship.China will find it tough to achieve over
6.5 percent growth over 2016-2020: state adviser.China's stocks
start the week with sharp losses.Magnitude 6.1 quake strikes
west of Hokkaido, Japan: USGS.AFRICA
Six killed in unrest in Sudan's Darfur,
says local official. Six dead in Sudan's West Darfur
after protest crackdown.IS in failed maritime attack
on Libya oil terminal: guards.Niger presidential candidate
denied release from prison.South Sudan: Finally,
South Sudan to form interim govt.Many Burundi attack victims
unarmed, suggests evidence.Tanzania backs African Union deployment to Burundi,
urges cooperation as violence intensifies.Italy evacuates
15 Libyans wounded in bomb attack.Egypt holds
first parliament in three years.Nigeria plans to resettle
2.2M people despite Boko Haram threat.No one is in charge
of the Central African Republic.Hundreds of Congolese troops
withdraw from Central African force.EUROPE
Swedish police accused of
covering up sex crimes at festival.Merkel under pressure as
Cologne police detail assaults.Cologne attacks:
New Year's Eve crime cases top 500. Cologne attackers
were of migrant origin - minister. German state minister
says foreigners behind Cologne violence.Europe blocks Balkans
with razor wire. Man in failed attack on Paris police
lived in German shelter for asylum seekers.Migrant crisis:
New camps to open in northern France.Kerry, Lavrov discuss Syria, other issues,
look for time to meet.World would be more balanced if Russia
asserted national interests from outset – Putin.New Catalonia leader
pledges secession within 18 months.Spain's Princess Cristina
faces historic tax fraud trial.AMERICAS
Genocide trial for
Guatemala ex-dictator Rios Montt suspended.Extraditing 'Chapo' to US
could take a year: Mexico.Mexico launches
drug lord's US extradition process.'You don't know the mess you got yourselves into': El Chapo's two sons surface
to threaten Mexican government with war after their father's arrest.Mexican drug lord 'Chapo' Guzman's hometown
mourns his downfall.Violence surges in Central America,
threatening new refugee flood.Argentina's president Mauricio Macri
embarrassed by fugitive bungle. Two Argentina fugitives
escape manhunt.Clinton says she did not get
classified information through email.At $1.3 billion, U.S. Powerball jackpot
in world record territory.Canadian Colin Rutherford freed
after 5 years in Taliban captivity.The 10 highest
US lottery jackpots.
TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb
threatens to attack Rome, Naples and Madrid.Officials discuss how to
coordinate fight against extremism.About 50 Daesh militants
killed in past 24 hours in Afghanistan.
Obama to shut Guantanamo before he leaves office,
says White House chief of staff.ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS
Wall St. ends little changed
after volatile session.U.S. crude oil prices drop over 2 percent
as market loses faith in rebound.Star Wars breaks
China box office record, studio says.Sri Lankan seeks $300 mn
for rare blue star sapphire.Hefner's Playboy mansion
listed for sale for $200 million.