Metro Plus News Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, Dec. 28

Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, Dec. 28

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi aircraft on Wednesday bombarded two hideouts housing about 10 Islamic State (IS) militants in the eastern province of Diyala, possibly killing all of them, the Iraqi military said.
Acting on intelligence reports, Iraqi warplanes completely destroyed the two IS hideouts in the Narin area near the town of Qara-Tappa, some 175 km northeast of the capital Baghdad, according to a statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command. (Iraq-Airstrike-IS)
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JERUSALEM — Israel’s incoming government led by comeback leader Benjamin Netanyahu released its policy guidelines on Wednesday, putting settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank as its top priority.
The policy document, a copy of which has been seen by Xinhua, states that the government, led by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, will “advance and develop the settlement in all parts of the land of Israel — in the Galilee, Negev, Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria,” using the Biblical names for the West Bank. (Israel-Settlement-Policy)
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TEHRAN — One person was killed and 15 others were injured on Wednesday in a 17-vehicle chain-reaction pileup in the central Iranian city of Arak, Markazi province, reported the semi-official Mehr news agency.
The accident involved several collisions among five semi-trailer trucks, two trucks and 10 sedans on the road from Arak to Salafchegan in the northern province of Qom, Mehr quoted Alireza Shahrjerdi, managing director of Markazi province’s Red Crescent Society, as saying. (Iran-Pileup-Collision)
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JERUSALEM — One patient died in a fire that broke out early Wednesday morning at the Soroka Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, the National Fire and Rescue Authority (NFRA) said.
The accident took place after a mattress was lit by a burning cigarette and caught fire at an internal ward of the center, which is one of the largest hospitals in Israel, according to NFRA spokesperson Alon Mazar. (Israel-Hospital-Fire)