Syria
Troops target IS tunnels, trenches
DAMASCUS — The Syrian government launched a new operation Tuesday targeting tunnels used by the Islamic State group in the capital, state TV said, while shelling by the extremists on a government-held neighborhood left at least four dead.
The TV said the aim of the operation is to destroy trenches and tunnels in the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood and the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, which is also mostly controlled by the extremists.
IS fighters in Hajar al-Aswad fired a shell on the nearby government-held neighborhood of Nahr Aisha, killing four people and wounding 15, state TV said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling killed five and wounded 17.
A group of journalists taken to the adjacent neighborhood of Qadam on Tuesday witnessed intense shelling and airstrikes on IS positons in the camp and Hajar al-Aswad. The crackle of gunfire echoed from the heavily damaged area.
Iran
Mummy found could be father of last shah
Construction workers in Iran may have unearthed the mummified remains of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the father of the country’s last monarch, nearly four decades after the Islamic Revolution toppled the dynasty.
The recent find of the gauze-wrapped body has triggered intense speculation and revived discussion of Iran’s dynastic past, which the clerically run government has spent decades trying to suppress. A mob demolished Reza Shah’s tomb shortly after the 1979 revolution, and the family lives in exile.
The monarchy’s widespread abuses did much to fuel the revolution, but its mystique persists as Iran grapples with economic woes and calls for reform ahead of the 40th anniversary of the uprising.
Nigeria
Church gunmen kill 15, including two priests
YOLA — Officials in Nigeria said Tuesday gunmen killed 15 people in an early-morning attack on a Catholic church, including two priests.
The attack took place in Ayar-Mbalom, a community in Benue state.
Terver Akase, a media aide to the Benue state governor, said the attackers also burned down 50 houses.
President Muhammadu Buhari called the violation of a place of worship “vile, evil and satanic” and an attempt to stoke religious conflict.
Britain
Apple is said to owe billions in back taxes
LONDON — Ireland says it will begin collecting more than 13 billion euros ($15.9 billion) of back taxes from Apple, 19 months after the European Commission ruled that a tax deal with the tech giant amounted to illegal state aid.
The Commission ordered Ireland to collect back taxes for the years 2003-2014, which it estimated at 13 billion euros plus interest. Ireland disagreed, saying the ruling undermined the country’s tax system.
But Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says he will on Tuesday sign an agreement setting up the escrow account that will hold the payments while Apple and Ireland appeal. The payments should be completed by September.
Donohoe says the government “fundamentally disagrees with the ruling,” but “Ireland is intent on complying with our binding legal obligations in this regard.”
Wire reports
