A wave of attacks on mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets across Iraq has killed at least 55 people and wounded more than 225 others in one of the bloodiest days of violence since U.S. troops pulled out of the country in December.

The apparently coordinated bombings and shootings took place over hours in the capital, Baghdad - where at least 32 people were reported killed - and in 11 other cities. Ten separate explosions rocked Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite districts during the morning rush hour, while other attacks targeted police patrols, commuters and crowds in shopping areas.

The Taliban has called on Afghans to attack foreign military bases in retaliation for the burning of Qurans at a NATO base, while protests continued for a third day.

In a statement Thursday, the Taliban urged Afghans to kill, capture and beat foreign soldiers as a lesson to never desecrate the Muslim holy book.

Thousands of people took part in demonstrations, including in eastern Laghman province and the city of Jalalabad, with some chanting “death to America.”

Officials say a car bomb has ripped through a bus terminal in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 12 people.

The blast Thursday in Peshawar wounded 30 others and destroyed several vehicles. The city is located near Pakistan's tribal regions, which are a stronghold of Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Also Thursday, officials said Pakistani jets bombed militant hideouts in the Orakzai tribal region, southwest of Peshawar, killing at least 15 militants.

Article by VOA News

Al-Qaida linked rebels have surrendered Somalia's third largest city, Baidoa, without a fight, fleeing in the face of a joint offensive by pro-government forces and Ethiopian troops.

Al-Shabab rebel militias pulled out of Baidoa as truckloads of pro-government troops and Ethiopian tanks rolled in.

The deputy prime minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, Mohamed Mahmud Ibrahim, said the al-Qaida linked militants offered surprisingly little resistance as they fled a city they won in hard fighting three years ago. The minister spoke by phone with VOA's Somali service.

Ethiopian and Somali government troops have captured a key stronghold of the Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Witnesses say the troops took control of Baidoa without a fight Wednesday, after al-Shabab fighters withdrew from the town.

The town, located in southwestern Somalia, was home to the country's Transitional Federal Government until al-Shabab captured it in 2009.

Somalia's deputy prime minister, Mohamed Mahmud Ibrahim, tells VOA Somali Service that officials and more troops will go to Baidoa to, in his words, stabilize the situation.

Witnesses reported gunshots and explosions early Wednesday in the northern Nigerian city, Kano, where Islamist insurgents have staged a series of deadly attacks in recent months.

Local residents and journalists reported hearing several loud explosions followed by an extended period of gunfire just before early morning prayers in the largely Muslim city. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Security officials refused to comment on the situation.

While violence involving Boko Haram extremists occurs on an almost daily basis in northern Nigeria, a debate is taking place in the United States over whether the radicals should be labeled as a foreign terrorist organization.

The U.S. State Department currently designates 49 extremist groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Only one of those groups comes from sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia's al-Shabab extremists.

Witnesses say Ethiopian and Somali government troops have clashed with al-Shabab militants in southwestern Somalia.

VOA's Somali Service reports the sides battled Tuesday in a village between the towns of Luq and Bardale. Bardale is located 60 kilometers west of Baidoa, an al-Shabab stronghold that was once the seat of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Somalia's deputy prime minister said the allied government and Ethiopian forces are headed toward Baidoa and will take the area within days.

VOA's Gabe Joselow reports from Liboi, Kenya, on the border with Somalia, where al-Shabab militants block roads, preventing food aid from being delivered.

I’m in a Kenyan military base in Liboi, Kenya, near the border with Somalia, where the Kenyan military is waging war against al-Qaida linked militant group al-Shabab.

Kenyan military officials here say, at this point, the operation would start in October. The military’s objective is mainly to pacify regions that were previously under militant control.