WHERE THE ACTION IS

The Philippine military says it has killed three of southeast Asia's top Islamist militants in a U.S.-backed air raid on the remote southern island of Jolo.

The three terrorist leaders have been identified as Umbra Jumdail, a leader in the Abu Sayyaf group, and Jemaah Islamiyah leaders Zulkifli bin Hir and Abdullah Ali.

Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian national also known as Marwan, carried a $5 million reward for his capture offered by the United States.

Ali was a Singaporean national who went by the alias Muawiyah.

Security officials say militants have stormed a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing seven soldiers and wounding three.

Officials say 18 militants were killed when Pakistani forces retaliated during Friday's attack in the Kurram tribal agency.

At least four troops were said to be abducted by the Taliban, who claimed responsibility for the assault.

Friday's death toll could not be independently verified because the region is off-limits to journalists.

In a visit to Somalia's capital of Mogadishu Thursday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague promised to step up the fight against terrorism and piracy. Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit the war-ravaged city in two decades.

Secretary Hague's visit comes during a time of relative peace and security in Mogadishu, since African Union (AMISOM) troops and forces of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) pushed al-Shabab out of the capital last month.

Colombian rebels say they are putting off plans to free six hostages held for more than 10 years because of what they say is military activity in the area.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said Wednesday it will make another attempt to free its captives as soon as what it calls the president's "insanity" abates.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says nobody knows where the hostages are being held. He appealed to the rebels to stop what he says are tricks and deceptions, and free the hostages now.

Thousands of Egyptians in Cairo have protested to denounce the country's military rulers and security forces for failing to prevent a soccer riot that killed 74 people and injured hundreds more in the northern city of Port Said.

Some protesters gathered Thursday in central Cairo's Tahrir Square while others marched to the nearby Interior Ministry, where riot police fired tear gas to keep them away. A crowd also chanted slogans against the ruling military at a Cairo train station where survivors of Wednesday's riot were returning home, some of them injured.

Nigerian secret police have arrested an alleged spokesman for Boko Haram, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed hundreds of people over the past two years.

Authorities said Wednesday they were questioning the suspect, who they say goes by the alias “Abu Qaqa.”

“Abu Qaqa,” or someone using the name, became a public facade for Boko Haram, frequently making telephone statements to the press following attacks, claiming responsibility and justifying them.

Pakistan says its fighter jets have bombed militant hideouts in the country's northwest along the Afghan border, killing at least 31 insurgents.

The bombing in the Kurram tribal region came a day after dozens of militants attacked a security post there. At least 10 Pakistani soldiers and 40 Taliban militants were killed in subsequent fighting Tuesday.

In Somalia, government forces backed by Ethiopian troops are set to advance on the Bay and Bakool regions, key strongholds of the militant group al-Shabab. The Islamist group has vowed to resist any foreign intervention.

In Somalia's Gedo region, which borders Ethiopia, Somali government forces have played a defensive role for the last eight months. But with the reported arrival of more Ethiopian troops, a Somali lawmaker tells VOA the forces are ready to secure the region and move forward to capture neighboring Bay and Bakool.

China has lodged a formal protest with Sudan over the capture of 29 Chinese workers by rebels and dispatched a team to the African nation to help secure their release.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng summoned Sudan's Charge d'Affaires in Beijing Tuesday and filed a complaint over local rebels' attack on a Chinese company camp in Sudan's South Kordofan state Saturday.