Russian drone crashes in Poland
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s defense minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia.
At a news conference in Warsaw, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz accused Russia of provoking NATO during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighboring Ukraine are underway, the country’s news agency PAP reported.
Police said they received reports of the crash around 2 a.m. and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. The blast broke windows in some nearby houses, but nobody was injured, PAP reported.
Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command said Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighboring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight.
Myanmar military retakes key town
BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military has regained control of a strategic town in eastern Kayah state from the opposition’s armed forces after nearly two years, state media reported Wednesday.
The recapture of Demoso in Kayah state — also known as Karenni — came as the military has stepped up activity in recent months, on the ground and with airstrikes, to retake areas controlled by the resistance ahead of elections it has promised to hold on Dec. 28.
Demoso, about 70 miles east of the capital Naypyitaw, has been a focal point for Myanmar’s civil war since the military took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The town had been under the control of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, or KNDF, and allied resistance forces in Kayah since the groups launched joint offensives against army bases in the state in November 2023.
A report in the state-run Myanma Alinn said six bodies and five weapons were seized after the fighting, adding that some members of the security forces were also killed.
Senior IS member captured in Syria
BEIRUT — A U.S.-led coalition captured a senior member of the Islamic State group in northwest Syria on Wednesday, state media and a war monitor reported. It was not immediately clear if the man is the IS supreme leader.
Abu Hafs al-Qurayshi, an Iraqi citizen and IS commander, was detained during a predawn operation that included landing troops from helicopters in the town of Atmeh, near the Turkish border. Another Iraqi citizen was killed, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The U.S. military did not respond to a request for comment.
The Observatory said the man captured had a French-speaking woman with him, and it was not immediately clear if she was taken by the U.S. force or by Syrian security forces who later cordoned the area.
Two years ago, IS announced that a man called Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was named as its new leader after Turkish authorities killed his predecessor.
Syrian state TV on Wednesday quoted an unnamed security official as saying the Iraqi man targeted in the operation is known as Ali, adding that his real name is Salah Noman. It said Noman was living in an apartment with his wife, son and mother. It said he was killed in the raid.
There was no immediate clarification for the difference in names reported by state media and the war monitor.
Al-Qurayshi is not the real name of IS leaders but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islam’s Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from the tribe, and “al-Qurayshi” is part of their nom de guerre.
Death toll in Nigeria attacks hits 50
ABUJA, Nigeria — The death toll from a shooting at a mosque and attacks on several nearby villages in northwestern Nigeria has risen to 50, a local official said Wednesday.
Gunmen stormed the mosque in Unguwan Mantau town in Katsina state during morning prayers on Tuesday, according to lawmaker Aminu Ibrahim.
“The bandits killed 30 people and burnt 20 others during attacks on several villages,” Ibrahim told the state parliament. Authorities earlier reported at least 13 people killed at the mosque.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Such attacks are common in Nigeria’s northwestern and north-central regions, where herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water. An attack last month in north-central Nigeria killed 150 people.
The conflict has become deadlier in recent years, with authorities and analysts warning that more herdsmen are taking up arms.
On Tuesday the Katsina state commissioner, Nasir Mu’azu, said the army and police have deployed in the area of Unguwan Mantau to prevent further attacks, adding that gunmen often hide among farm crops during the rainy season to carry out assaults on communities.
He said the mosque attack was likely in retaliation for a raid by Unguwan Mantau townspeople over the weekend in which several gunmen were ambushed and killed.
Army soldiers pose in front of the captured fire department station in Myanmar’s eastern state of Kayah, which the military government claim to have recaptured from resistance forces, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025 (Myanmar Military via AP)