Turkish security forces battled with Kurdish rebels near the Turkish-Syrian border Friday, killing seven rebels. Three Turkish soldiers were wounded.

The clashes broke out near the border town of Hassa. They were among the deadliest between Turkish troops and rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party since the group called off a six-month long cease-fire in February.

The PKK began its fight for an ethnic homeland in 1984. An estimated 40,000 people have died in the struggle.

In Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan, forces loyal to the internationally recognized President Alassane Ouattara surround the home of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo who has refused to give up power. There is heavy fighting in Abidjan's Cocody neighborhood around Gbagbo's residence, but it is unclear if he is inside.

Pro-Ouattara forces took control of state television late Thursday, its last images showing Gbagbo in the driveway joking with supporters.

Mexican Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez has resigned.

President Felipe Calderon announced Chavez's resignation Thursday, but gave no reason for the decision.

Chavez had faced criticism from women's groups that said he did little to prevent or solve rapes and murders of hundreds of women while he served as attorney general of the state of Chihuahua.

President Calderon has nominated Marisela Morales to replace Chavez. The nomination must be approved by the Mexican Senate. If approved, she would be the first woman in the job.

A Southern African Development Community mini-summit in Livingstone, Zambia, took a surprise turn on Thursday as Zambian President Rupiah Banda warned countries in the region including Zimbabwe to heed the lessons of Tunisia and Egypt and implement democratic reforms before they too face mass demonstrations and uprisings.

Banda as host made his remarks in opening the meeting of the SADC troika on security, defense and politics called to examine the current stage of the crisis in Zimbabwe as well as issues in other countries in Africa's southern tier.

During the early morning hours, as the U.S. Army soldiers were preparing for a patrol with their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts, they received a radio call that would give them the confidence boost needed for the mission ahead. “Seventeen enemy (killed in action),” squawked the voice on the other end of the radio.

A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed two insurgents and detained more than 10 additional suspected insurgents while targeting a Taliban weapons expert in Imam Sahib District, Kunduz province, yesterday.

The Taliban insurgent is an improvised explosive device and suicide vest expert, and is a key leader in the Kunduz suicide attack network. He is directly responsible for a February suicide attack in the district and coordinates with Taliban leadership and attack coordinators in Wardak province, Kabul and Pakistan.

Iraqi soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, concluded a month-long training cycle with U.S. Soldiers at Ghuzlani Warrior Training Center culminating in a battalion live fire exercise, March 31.

The Iraqi army soldiers showcased fire and maneuver techniques taught by “Head Hunter” Troopers of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

An explosion rent the air and shook the ground a few miles from Forward Operating Base Clark, Afghanistan, March 27. There wasn’t cause for alarm, however, because the explosion was a controlled detonation performed by the 703rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company.

The four-man team from the 703rd EOD, with support from a civilian and a personal security detail from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, disposed of approximately 200 pieces of ordnance.

As NATO officials assumed command of coalition operations in Libya yesterday morning, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told the House Armed Services Committee that U.S. forces will "significantly ramp down" their commitment in the operation.

Gates said U.S. efforts in Libya will provide the capabilities other nations don't have in kind and scale.