Syria

A U.S.-led coalition has conducted nearly 6,000 airstrikes against the Islamic State group, expanding its operations to target the extremists in Syria as well. But a year later, the Islamic State group remains able to launch attacks across its self-declared "caliphate" in both countries, despite some gains by Kurdish fighters and allied Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, searches continued in Egypt for a missing Croatian hostage that an Islamic State affiliate had threatened to kill.

The heavily populated town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra, which is home to towering Roman ruins, and some 85 kilometers from Homs city. Its capture allows the IS group to link up areas under its control in and around Palmyra with areas in the eastern countryside of Qalamoun in Damascus province.

The coalition had no immediate comment.

The report by Airwars, a project aimed at tracking the international airstrikes targeting the extremists, said it believed 57 specific strikes killed civilians and caused 48 suspected "friendly fire" deaths. It said the strikes have killed more than 15,000 Islamic State militants.

While Airwars noted the difficulty of verifying information in territory held by the IS group, which has kidnapped and killed journalists and activists, other groups have reported similar casualties from the U.S.-led airstrikes.

Their goals, while overlapping in some ways, are far different in others, mainly on the question of how to handle Kurdish militants battling Islamic State fighters in Syria. And that's the problem.

The officials say that Muhsin al-Fadhli is dead. He was a leader of the Khorasan Group, a cadre of al-Qaida operatives who were sent from Pakistan to Syria to plot attacks on the West. Officials say the Khorasan Group is embedded in the al-Nusra front, Syria's al-Qaida affiliate.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the operation.

The Spanish Federation of Journalists' Association identified the men as Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre.

Elsa Gonzalez, the president of the association, told Spanish National Television in a telephone interview that the three disappeared while working in the Aleppo area. She said they have not been heard from for at least several days.

The airstrikes that targeted the town of Manbej in Aleppo province were most likely carried out by Syrian army warplanes, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said the death toll was likely to rise because many of the wounded suffered critical injuries.

Twitter and Facebook accounts affiliated with the Islamic State group said 26 people were killed and around 100 others wounded in the attacks.

The statement represents his most direct signal to date that he will seek to expand his country's role in supporting the United States and its allies.

In remarks made to NBC News' "Meet the Press," Cameron said Britain must do more fight the group, also known as ISIL. The remarks, which follow a commitment to meet NATO targets on military spending, make plain that Britain now sees the group as an explicit threat to national security.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 civilians were among the dead in Saturday's attack on the town of al-Bab, including three children and three women.

Scores of others were wounded in the attack which saw army helicopters drop explosives-filled barrels on the town in the northern province of Aleppo.

The Local Coordination Committees group said 29 people were killed.

It was one of the largest coalition operations carried out in Syria to date, the coalition said Sunday.

At least 16 airstrikes were reported late Saturday and early Sunday, triggering successive explosions that shook the city and created panic among residents, activists said. 

The U.S.-led coalition often targets IS-held towns and cities in Syria, but the overnight strikes on Raqqa were rare in their intensity.