Islamic State claims suicide attacks as Mosul campaign makes slow progress

A member of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighter holds his weapon during a battle with Islamic State militants in west of Mosul, Iraq

ASIA: Islamic State claimed a series of suicide attacks that killed at least 14 people south and west of Baghdad on Monday as a U.S.-backed campaign to capture Mosul, the insurgents' last urban stronghold in Iraq, made slow progress.

The attacks showed that even though the jihadists have been losing territory over the past year - and face a big battle to hold Mosul in the north - they retain the ability to strike across Iraq, even in the central areas near the capital.