Armed conflicts and attacks
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Taliban insurgents seize the Darqad District in the northeast Takhar Province near the border with Tajikistan. At least six Afghan troops are killed in the fighting. (Reuters) (AP via The Daily Mail)
Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence for the United Kingdom, announces that over 400 troops will remain in Afghanistan through 2016. The military personnel will train Afghan toops and support NATO operations in Kabul. (Military Times)
Boko Haram insurgency
Suspected Boko Haram militants kill 14 civilians in the southeast Diffa Region of Niger near the Nigerian border. The Nigerien government recently approved a law prolonging a 15-day state of emergency for the Diffa region by three months in a bid to boost security. (Reuters)
2015 Ankara bombings
Ankara's Chief Prosecutor's office says it has "strong evidence" that an Islamic State group — based in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border — is behind the bombings at this month's Ankara peace rally that killed 102 people, as well as four previous attacks in Turkey since May that have mainly targeted supporters of a pro-Kurdish party. (AP) (AFP via NDTV)
Disasters and accidents
A military JLENS blimp from the United States Army broke loose from its moorings at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and drifted over 16,000 ft above Pennsylvania. F-16 Fighter jets were scrambled to track the blimp that has since deflated, causing widespread power outages from a long cable it dragged along the ground. (NBC) (Washington Post)
2015 Hindu Kush earthquake
Aid workers warn that survivors of the earthquake are at risk of dying of exposure as temperatures in Pakistan and Afghanistan fall to near freezing levels. (Time)
The death toll from Monday's quake rises to 385. (AP via the Southern Illinoisan)
European migrant crisis
The Greek coastguard says they rescued 242 migrants whose wooden boat sank north of the island of Lesbos, but at least three drowned, including two small boys. (Reuters) (AP via CBS News)