KABUL (Reuters) – Two improvised explosive devices (IED) killed five soldiers from NATO-led forces and one civilian in Afghanistan on Friday, the NATO force said in a statement, and a young suicide bomber killed three civilians in the south.

BALCILAR, Turkey (Reuters) – A gas explosion killed at least 17 girls and injured 27 others, wrecking a dormitory at a school in southern Turkey on Friday, a military rescue official said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The number of civilians killed in Iraq last month fell to less than a quarter of the toll in July 2007, government figures released on Friday showed, underscoring a dramatic improvement in security.