U.S.-led strikes pound Islamic State in Iraq, kill 250 fighters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition aircraft waged a series of deadly strikes against Islamic State around the city of Falluja on Wednesday, U.S. officials told Reuters, with one citing a preliminary estimate of at least 250 suspected fighters killed and at least 40 vehicles destroyed.

If the figures are confirmed, the strikes would be among the most deadly ever against the jihadist group. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the operation and noted preliminary estimates can change.

The strikes, which the officials said took place south of the city, where civilians have also been displaced, are just the latest battlefield setback suffered by Islamic State in its self-proclaimed “caliphate” of Iraq and Syria.

The group’s territorial losses are not diminishing concerns about its intent and ability to strike abroad though. Turkey pointed the finger at Islamic State on Wednesday for a triple suicide bombing and gun attack that killed 41 people at Istanbul’s main airport.

Iraqi security forces patrol Fallujah, Iraq, Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Iraqi officials say dozens of homes have been burned and looted as Fallujah was liberated from the Islamic State group.

CIA chief John Brennan told a forum in Washington the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic State “depravity” and acknowledged there was a long road ahead battling the group, particularly its ability to incite attacks.

“We’ve made, I think, some significant progress, along with our coalition partners, in Syria and Iraq, where most of the ISIS members are resident right now,” Brennan said.

“But ISIS’ ability to continue to propagate its narrative, as well as to incite and carry out these attacks – I think we still have a ways to go before we’re able to say that we have made some significant progress against them.”

On the battlefield, the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State has moved up a gear in recent weeks, with the government declaring victory over Islamic State in Falluja.

An alliance of militias have also launched a major offensive against the militant group in the city of Manbij in northern Syria.

Still, in a reminder of the back-and-forth nature of the war, U.S.-backed Syrian rebels were pushed back from the outskirts of an Islamic State-held town on the border with Iraq and a nearby air base on Wednesday after the jihadists mounted a counter- attack, two rebel sources said.

Huntsman Official Trailer

Spain votes in general election

Spaniards vote for second time in six months but opinion polls suggest repeat election may not break deadlock.

People across Spain have cast their ballots for the second time in six months, in a closely watched election just days after Britain's decision to exit the European Union.

Polls closed at 8pm (18:00 GMT) for Spain's roughly 36.5 million voters on Sunday, with results expected shoftly.

Sunday's repeat vote came after the four main political parties failed to agree on a coalition after December's general election resulted in a hung parliament.

Yet, opinion polls suggested the new ballot might also not break the political deadlock.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) was expected to come again first without a majority, while the on-the-rise left-wing Unidos Podemos alliance was tipped to overtake the centre-left Socialists in second place.

The centrist, business-friendly Ciudadanos was expected to come fourth.

The Socialists and Unidos Podemos could potentially create a broad left-of-centre coalition.

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Spain's capital, Madrid, said there was a lot at stake in this general election.

"Spanish people are going back to the polls for the second time in six months. They are fed up and they want to put an end to this political impasse."

Crucial vote

Britain's surprise vote on Thursday to leave the EU has further added to the uncertainty, with the PP insisting on the need for "stability" in the face of "radicalism" and "populism".

It was a jab at the Unidos Podemos coalition, which rejects EU-backed austerity and pledges to fight for the least well-off.

"If you want a united country and not a radical Spain, think about it, go for what is safe ... vote for the Popular Party," Mariano Rajoy, acting prime minister, said in one of his last comments on Twitter before the obligatory day of campaign silence.

The leftwing Unidos Podemos alliance is led by Pablo Iglesias [EPA]

The Unidos Podemos coalition, led by Pablo Iglesias, has responded with a message of calm aimed at defusing this criticism.

The left-wing alliance - the "o" of Unidos shaped as a heart - has made "smile of a country" its slogan for an emotional campaign.

"Thank you. For everything," Iglesias said in his final campaign-related tweet, a picture of him from the back, raising his fist towards a crowd.

OPINION: Spain, a non-governmental organisation?

Rajoy argued that since the PP came to power in 2011, it has brought Spain back to growth and overseen a drop in unemployment - though at 21 percent, it was still the second highest rate in the EU after Greece.

But his rivals retort that inequalities have risen and the jobs created are mainly unstable.

Rajoy, the PP leader and acting prime minister, has asked voters to favour 'stability' [EPA]

The PP has also been engulfed by corruption scandals in recent years, with jailed party treasurer Luis Barcenas telling investigators about a scheme of illegal contributions and donations to the party.

The Socialists were fighting smaller scandals of their own, involving allegations that former party members ran a fraud scheme by siphoning off public funds.

After the vote, political leaders were expected to head back to the negotiating table, under more pressure this time to form a coalition.