FOUR American and four Italian military personnel were killed in separate aircraft crashes, military officials said yesterday, as Iraq’s prime minister condemned the arrest of a top Sunni political leader by US troops.

Security was tightened in major Pakistani cities today after a suicide attack outside a mosque amid fears of sectarian violence as the Islamic country’s Shiite minority marked the religious holiday of Muharram.

Thousands of doctors in Pakistan went on strike today in protest at the murder of their colleagues in the port city of Karachi.

A man convicted of killing an Iranian diplomat 10 years ago has been hanged in Pakistan.