Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Syrian army comes closer to encircling Islamic State in central Syria desert

The Syrian army and its allies advanced in the central Syrian desert on Monday and could soon encircle an Islamic State pocket, part of a multi-pronged thrust into eastern areas held by the jihadist group. A Syrian military source said the Syrian army and its allies had taken a number of villages around the town of al-Koum in northeastern Homs province.

U.S. soldiers in Iraq were killed by artillery 'mishap': Pentagon

A U.S. Army artillery "mishap" was responsible for the deaths of two U.S. service members in northern Iraq over the weekend, a Pentagon official said on Monday. Two U.S. service members were killed and five injured in northern Iraq on Sunday. The victims were not named.

Venezuela's Maduro seeks to capitalize on Trump's military threat

While U.S. Vice President Mike Pence travels to Latin America tamping down concern over his boss's threat of possible military action in Venezuela, the country's leader Nicolas Maduro sought to capitalize on local outrage by holding an "anti-imperialist" protest on Monday. The march started with a late morning rally and was expected to end at the presidential palace where Maduro will address the crowd, while a conciliatory Pence continued a tour of the region that began in Colombia on Sunday.

North Korea's Kim puts army on alert; U.S. warns it can intercept missile

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned on Monday that the U.S. military would be prepared to intercept a missile fired by North Korea if it was headed to Guam, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alerted his army that it should always be fire-ready. Mattis told reporters that the U.S. military would know the trajectory of a missile fired by North Korea within moments and would "take it out" if it looked like it would hit the U.S. Pacific territory.

Machine gun attack on U.N. Mali base in Timbuktu kills seven

Gunmen attacked a United Nations peacekeeping base in the northern Mali city of Timbuktu on Monday, officials said, killing seven people, including five Malian security guards, a gendarme and civilian. "An attack has been launched against one of our camps in Timbuktu (by) unknown men with machine guns," Radhia Achouri, a spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, said earlier by telephone, adding that it had deployed a rapid response force with helicopters to the scene.

Kenyans return to work as opposition strike call flops

Kenyans largely ignored an opposition call to strike on Monday, opening shops and returning to work as they shrugged off demands for demonstrations against President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election and against the killing of protesters. Vehicular traffic returned to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, and the western town of Kisumu after days of quiet amid fears of violence after last Tuesday's vote.

Car plows into pizzeria near Paris, killing 12-year-old girl

A car plowed into the outdoor terrace of a pizzeria in the small town of Sept-Sorts east of Paris on Monday, killing a 12-year-old girl and seriously injuring several other people. The driver deliberately targeted the diners, said a local prosecutor who announced he was ruling out terrorism and opening a murder investigation.

Suspected jihadists kill 18 in attack on Burkina Faso restaurant

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 18 people and wounded several during a raid on a restaurant in Burkina Faso's capital overnight, but security forces shot dead both attackers and freed people trapped inside the building. "This is a terrorist attack," Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou told a news conference on Monday.

More than 200 killed in Sierra Leone as mudslide sweeps away homes

A mudslide killed more than 200 people on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown on Monday, sweeping away homes and leaving residents desperate for news of missing family members. The Red Cross said at least 205 bodies had been taken to the central morgue in Freetown. Police and military personnel were at the scene in the mountain town of Regent searching for people trapped in the debris.

Italy to return ambassador to Cairo, ending standoff over murdered student

Italy said on Monday it would return its ambassador to Cairo more than a year after the murder of an Italian graduate student led the Rome government to recall its previous envoy. Giulio Regeni was 28 when he vanished from the streets of Cairo in January 2016. His body was discovered in a ditch on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital on Feb. 3, showing signs of extensive torture.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)