MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is considering blasting a railway line through the Caucasus mountains to link up with South Ossetia, the breakaway region of Georgia over which Moscow and Tbilisi fought a war in August.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Eyed with suspicion by the state but credited with dealing al Qaeda a heavy blow, Iraq’s largely Sunni Arab neighborhood guards cautiously welcomed their transfer from U.S. to government control on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The number of civilians killed in Iraq last month more than halved to 359 compared to a year ago, Iraqi government figures showed, and the number of U.S. troops killed in action also fell dramatically.