In brief: Palestinians to work with Syria against IS

DAMASCUS, Syria – Palestinian groups agreed to join forces with the Syrian government to expel Islamic State militants from an embattled Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, opening the door to a potentially destructive military campaign in a district already devastated by many rounds of fighting.

Islamic State extremists overran much of Yarmouk last week, establishing a foothold in the Syrian capital for the first time. The incursion is the latest trial for Yarmouk’s estimated 18,000 residents.

Reporters on a government-escorted visit Thursday to Yarmouk saw blown-out buildings at the camp’s northern entrance that were nothing but empty shells. In its dusty and deserted streets, a few sheep foraged in the rubble. Building facades were charred by fire and walls pockmarked by bullets.

Hackers take over French broadcasts

PARIS – Hackers claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group simultaneously blacked out 11 channels of the French global TV network and took over its website and social media accounts on Thursday, in what appeared to be the most ambitious media attack so far by the extremist group.

Anti-terror prosecutors opened an investigation into the attack that began late Wednesday and blocked TV5 Monde from functioning part of the day Thursday. Operations were fully re-established Thursday evening.

University removes colonialist’s statue

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Hundreds of South African students cheered loudly Thursday as a crane lifted the decades-old statue of a British colonialist – celebrating the end of what they described as a symbol of white privilege.

The University of Cape Town removed the statue of Cecil John Rhodes after weeks of student demonstrations that began when one student flung excrement at the bronze sculpture last month.

The protesters, known as the Rhodes Must Fall Movement, said the statue was a reminder of how little the university had changed since the end of apartheid, with the majority of the faculty being white academics.

Taliban attack leaves 10 dead

KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban militants stormed an Afghan government compound in a northern city on Thursday, killing 10 people, including four prosecutors, and wounding dozens, police said.

The attack took place in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province.

The city is one of Afghanistan’s most economically developed, and insurgent attacks there are rare.