DAMASCUS -- As many as 3,500 people, including Islamic State (IS) militants, have surrendered to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over the past two days in eastern Syria, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported Wednesday.

The IS militants and their family members left the farmlands of the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour Province for areas controlled by the SDF, the report said. (Syria-IS-Surrender)

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ANKARA -- Turkey and Iran plan to conduct a joint operation against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday.

He told state-run Anadolu Agency that some Iranian officials recently came to Turkey to discuss the joint counter-terrorism operation. (Turkey-Iran)

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BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has held a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over legal status of U.S.-led coalition forces stationed in Iraq, Abdul Mahdi's office said Wednesday.

Adel Abdul Mahdi received a phone call from Pompeo, and they confirmed "the legal framework for the work of the international coalition forces, including the U.S. forces operating in Iraq," the office said in a statement. (Iraq-U.S.)

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ANKARA -- Turkey's allies should not block Ankara's purchase of a Russian air defense system, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday.

"As a NATO ally, you should not intervene in Turkey's purchases from another country or a non-NATO country, if you don't want to sell," Cavusoglu was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying. (Turkey-Russia) Enditem