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CIA chief to visit Turkey in sign of improving ties with US
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- In a sign of improving ties, Turkish officials said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and responded "positively" on two key Turkish demands that had soured Ankara's relations with the Obama administration.
Following the 45-minute telephone conversation late Tuesday, officials from Erdogan's office also announced that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would be making his first overseas visit to Turkey on Thursday. The decision showed the importance the new administration attaches to Turkey, a country on the frontline of the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
Ties between Turkey and the U.S., which are NATO allies, were strained under the Obama administration. Turkey expressed frustrations over what it perceived as U.S. reluctance to extradite the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey accused of orchestrating the country's failed military coup. It was also angered by Washington's support of Syrian Kurdish fighters.
While Turkey's government considers the fighters terrorists because of their affiliation with outlawed Kurdish rebels in Turkey, the Obama administration regarded them as the most effective group in the war against the Islamic State group in Syria. It had also asked Turkey to allow the judiciary process for Gulen's return to take its course.
The Turkish government has pinned hopes for improved ties on Trump's presidency, and the call was being closely watched in Turkey for signs of a recovery.
Former prime minister, a US citizen, wins Somalia vote
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A former prime minister who holds dual Somali-U.S. citizenship was declared Somalia's new president Wednesday, immediately taking the oath of office as the long-chaotic country moved toward its first fully functioning central government in a quarter-century.
Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud conceded defeat after two rounds of voting, and former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was declared the new leader.
"History was made, we have taken this path to democracy, and now I want to congratulate Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo," Mohamud said.
Fears of attacks by extremist group al-Shabab limited the election to the lawmakers instead of the population at large. Members of the upper and lower houses of the legislature voted at a heavily guarded former air force base in the capital, Mogadishu, while a security lockdown closed the international airport.
Thousands of cheering Somalis quickly poured into the streets in jubilation, chanting the new president's name. Cheering soldiers fired into the air. "Somalia will be another Somalia soon," said Ahmed Ali, a police officer celebrating in the crowd.
Mohamud held a slight lead over Farmajo, 88 votes to 72, after the first round of 21 candidates, but Farmajo held a clear lead after the second round among the three candidates remaining.
US commander: Mosul and Raqqa should be retaken in 6 months
CAMP TAJI, Iraq (AP) -- Forces fighting the Islamic State group should be able to retake the IS-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria within the next six months, according to the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
On a tour north of Baghdad Wednesday, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said "within the next six months I think we'll see both (the Mosul and Raqqa campaigns) conclude."
Townsend also said he expected the fight for Mosul's western half to begin in days.
Iraqi forces have retaken about half of Mosul -- the country's second largest city -- since the operation was officially launched in October, following more than two years of coalition-led anti-IS operations around Iraq clearing supply lines and partially isolating the city. Last month Iraqi forces declared Mosul's east "fully liberated" and have since largely paused the fight.
Townsend, who heads the U.S.-led coalition against IS, said Iraq's military is still in the process of putting forces into place ahead of the push into western Mosul, but predicted operations would begin "in the next few days."
Closely backed by U.S.-led coalition airpower, Iraqi ground forces faced months of grueling urban combat in Mosul that at times brought the front lines to a standstill for weeks. But the pace of operations increased as Iraqi forces closed in on the Tigris River which roughly divides the city.
Townsend credited the quicker progress with better coordination and "lessons learned" on the part of Iraqi forces. But on the ground inside Mosul, Iraqi troops said as they neared the Tigris, IS fighters launched fewer car bombs and largely fled their advances -- unlike the heavy resistance they faced in the first few weeks of combat inside the city.