NIAMEY – Niger will allow U.S. forces stationed in the country to arm the drones being used to track jihadis, having previously allowed their use only for surveillance, the government said Saturday. The decision comes a month after jihadis ambushed a joint U.S.-Niger patrol in a volatile area near the border with Mali, killing four American soldiers and four Nigerien troops. But Defense Minister Kalla Moutari said the decision had been taken before the Oct. 4 attack at Tongo Tongo. "It was a negotiation that had been under way for a while. Arming the drones is an option we decided on before we learned of the tragedy at Tongo Tongo," Moutari told state radio.

Formula 1 bosses have brought in the latest anti-drone technology to protect Lewis Hamilton and other drivers from Islamic State terrorists at this year's British Grand Prix. Race officials fear that jihadis could use drones carrying explosives to attack drivers and spectators at the Silverstone racetrack. So to counter the threat, security guards with electronic jammers and net guns will be on patrol before and during the race, which will be attended by tens of thousands of fans on Sunday, July 16. The move is in response to IS using drones to drop bombs on UK-backed forces in Syria and Iraq – and the danger posed by'lone wolf' jihadis who could buy a drone online or on a British high street. Last night, Silverstone officials confirmed that they have hired the British company Drone Defence to cover the race.

MOSUL, IRAQ – Iraqi forces said Monday that they have taken more territory from jihadists and were searching for militants and bombs on the edge of the Old City as they press an offensive in west Mosul. They are also striking IS with armed drones as part of a renewed push launched on March 5 that has forced the jihadis out of several neighborhoods and key sites, including the famed Mosul museum. West Mosul is the most-populated urban area still held by the jihadis, followed by Syria's Raqa, which is also a key target in the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign. Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced additional gains on Monday, saying that forces from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service had recaptured the Al-Nafat and Mosul al-Jadida neighborhoods. Lt. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat said that forces from the Rapid Response Division, another special forces unit, and the federal police were working to search and clear territory on the edge of Mosul's Old City.

BEIRUT – An air raid has struck several cars in northwestern Syria, killing at least eight people, including al-Qaida-linked fighters and a senior commander with a Chinese Islamic militant faction, an activist group and a local jihadi commander said Monday. The attack occurred late Sunday on a road leading from the town of Sarmada to the Bab al-Hawa area on the border with Turkey, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a local commander with the Fatah al-Sham Front, an al-Qaida-linked group. The militant spoke via text messages on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but the Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman said it is widely believed to have been carried out by the U.S.-led coalition. The U.S. has killed some of al-Qaida's most senior commanders in Syria over the past two years in airstrikes.

MOSUL, IRAQ/SALAHIYAH IRAQ – Iraq's special forces worked Sunday to clear neighborhoods on the eastern edge of Islamic State-held Mosul as bombings launched by the extremist group elsewhere in the country killed at least 20 people. The Mosul offensive has slowed in recent days as Iraqi forces have pushed into more densely populated areas, where they cannot rely as much on airstrikes and shelling because of the risk posed to civilians, who have been told to stay in their homes. "There are a lot of civilians and we are trying to protect them," said Lt. Col. Muhanad al-Timimi. "This is one of the hardest battles that we've faced till now." Some civilians are fleeing the combat zone, while IS militants are holding others back for use as human shields, making it harder for Iraqi commanders on the ground to get approval for requested U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

WASHINGTON – U.S. special operations forces working with African partners called in an airstrike against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab group in Somalia on Thursday, killing five, the Pentagon said. Jeff Davis said U.S. troops were advising and assisting Ugandan troops from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in southern Somalia, west of Mogadishu. The AMISOM troops were raiding an illegal Shabaab roadblock where the jihadis were extorting payments from drivers. "They came under fire from the al-Shabaab militants, and we called in an airstrike in their defense," Davis said. A U.S. defense official said the strike was conducted by drone.