Islamic State

At least 35 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in a busy square in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

Two bombs have exploded in central Baghdad, killing at least 28 and wounding more than 50, officials say.

Control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra has been going back and forth between government forces and Islamic State militants, reports say.

A mass grave containing the remains of about 100 beheaded civilians has been discovered inside a school in a town south of Mosul.

A US-backed force has begun an operation to capture Raqqa, Islamic State's "capital" in Syria.

Iraqi forces have battled their way into another suburb of Mosul, as the UN points to growing evidence of IS atrocities in the city.

New Zealand's military role in Iraq is to be expanded, with the government giving approval for troops to offer training at a third military base.

Two Yazidi women who escaped sexual enslavement by so-called Islamic State in Iraq have won Europe's top human rights award, the Sakharov prize.

In Focus - Labour Party leader Andrew Little tells Morning Report he would not renew any New Zealand commitment to training Iraqi troops but there may be a useful role in other areas. Video

The New Zealand contingent in Iraq will eventually switch from training Iraqi troops to training local police, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says. Video, Audio

Iraqi army troops have stormed into a Christian region that has been under Islamic State control since 2014, as part of US-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul.

Islamic State has launched a major attack on Kirkuk as forces push in around Mosul, preparing to attack the jihadists' last major Iraq stronghold.

Iraq prime minister Haider al-Abadi says a major offensive aimed at recapturing the city of Mosul from Islamic State militants is progressing more quickly than expected.

Residents returning to villages retaken from Islamic State in the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul have found tunnels rigged with explosives.

New Zealand has offered $1 million to help civilians affected by the fight to free the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State, now in its second day.

A major military offensive to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State has begun, the country's government says.