French President Emmanuel #Macron is among leaders set to attend a regional summit in #Iraq.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and #Jordan's King Abdullah II are due at the Baghdad summit, while the foreign ministers of arch-foes #Iran and #SaudiArabia will also be present.

The meeting comes as Iraq tries to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran.

The final #UK evacuation flight purely for Afghan nationals under Operation Pitting has left #Kabul airport, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Any further flights which will now leave Kabul under the UK’s evacuation operation will have UK diplomatic and military personnel on board. (The Guardian)

Several were killed in the Houthi missile attack on Al Anad airbase in Lahij, southern #Yemen.

According to various reports, the number of victims varying from 20 to 90. Still unclear, but at least a dozen were killed.

Update: the attack on the al-Anad military base in the government-held southern province of Lahij was carried out using armed drones and ballistic missiles #Yemen

The attack is very likely from Taiz

After the regional conference in #Iraq, the Iranian Foreign Minister arrived in Damascus to brief Bashar #Assad on the results of the talks.

The top Iranian diplomat is angry that Assad was not invited.

The newly acquired Taliban arsenal.

Muhammad Amin ul Haq, who once coordinated security for Bin Laden and hosted him in #Afghanistan after returning from Khartoum, has returned to Tora Bora.

An infographic from the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, showing the chronology of the #IslamicState attacks in #Afghanistan and #Pakistan since 2016.

🔴 Kabul International Airport is completely under Taliban control after the last US military planes left the area minutes ago.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan is officially over.

Dominic Raab has said the UK will “reserve the right” to take part in airstrikes in Afghanistan in the future in the interests of “self-defence”.

In SkyNews, the UK foreign secretary has denied claims in the Sunday Times he did not take regular calls from Afghan and Pakistani ministers during the evacuation from Kabul airport, allegedly because he thought Afghanistan was “yesterday’s war”.

The Croatian police are allegedly robbing and pushing back to Bosnia dozens of Afghans who have left their country for fear of Taliban reprisals.

The Guardian has collected testimonies from Afghan asylum seekers and obtained an exclusive report from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) documenting about 60 illegal pushbacks allegedly perpetrated between 16 August and 29 August by the Croatian police against Afghan families in Bosnia attempting to reach Europe. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/31/croatian-police-accused-of-robbing-and-pushing-back-to-bosnia-afghans

The Taliban forces trying to attack Panjshir but were stopped by the resistance forces of Ahmad Massoud. The Taliban lost fighters during clashes yesterday.

Turkish shipyard Ares said it has designed and developed an unmanned anti-submarine warfare vessel, hoping to begin mass production this year.

Ares said the ULAQ DSH/ASW successfully passed laser-guided firing tests and will first enter service with Turkey’s military before the company seeks export contracts. The firm identified Oman, Qatar, and African and South American countries as potential customers. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2021/08/30/turkish-shipyard-develops-anti-submarine-drone/

#Afghanistan: the talks between the Taliban and Ahmad Massoud failed; the fighting around Panjshir continues.

Dominic Raab has said that the central assessment of the #UK government was that Kabul was “unlikely” to fall in 2021.

The UK foreign secretary also disclosed he had overseen high-level talks between the UK and #Pakistan to discuss the Afghan crisis and would be heading to the region imminently.

#Venezuela’s opposition parties, led by Juan Guaidó, will field candidates in upcoming elections, ending a three-year boycott.

Mayoral and municipal elections will be held on November 21st.

#Afghanistan: Fighting between the Taliban and the resistance of Amrulah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud continues.

In the last 24 hours, the Taliban have lost 135 fighters in Panjshir and 45 in Kapisa. There are several dozen captured Taliban fighters.

Massoud's forces were joined by other commandos fighting in southern Afghanistan under General Sami Sadat, who excelled in Helmand's defence.

🔴 A knife-wielding extremist injured six people, several of them critically, at an Auckland, #NewZealand grocery store on Friday before being shot dead by police, in what authorities are describing as an #IslamicState-inspired terrorist attack.

⚡️ Police in #Portugal have arrested two men believed to be linked to the Islamic State group.

The two have been under investigation since 2017 and, according to available information, were in Mosul until 2016. They were arrested in the Lisbon area.