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Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces have agreed on an immediate ceasefire after nearly four days of fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The announcement came from the Armenian separatists and Azeri defence ministry. Ethnic Armenians have controlled the mountainous enclave in Azerbaijan and adjacent territory since the 1990s.

Earlier Azerbaijan said 16 of its troops had died in two days of clashes. The Christian Armenians and mainly Muslim Azeris are longstanding rivals. The separatists accuse Azerbaijan of using heavier weapons, including Smerch multiple rocket launchers. Azerbaijan threatened a “major attack” on the region’s capital, Stepanakert. The conflict – halted in 1994 – flared up again on Saturday.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, quoted by Reuters news agency, said Ankara would continue to stand by Azerbaijan in the conflict. The latest claims by the warring sides have not been independently verified.

Fighting escalated into full-scale war in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed, killing about 30,000 people before a ceasefire in 1994. Nagorno-Karabakh has since run its own affairs with Armenian military and financial backing, but clashes break out on a regular basis. Mediators from Russia, the US and France are expected to meet in Vienna on Tuesday under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Years of mediation by the so-called OSCE Minsk Group have failed to defuse tensions in the southern Caucasus region.

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Syrian forces and their allies have retaken the central town of al-Qaryatain from so-called Islamic State (IS), dealing a further strategic blow to the militant group, state media say.

It comes days after IS was pushed out of the nearby ancient city of Palmyra.

IS captured al-Qaryatain in August, and abducted hundreds of residents, including dozens of Christians. Many were later freed. A monitoring group said there were still pockets of fighting in the town.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday there were still IS fighters in the eastern parts of the town, but that they were withdrawing.

If the government reasserts its control over al-Qaryatain, it would be a further boost for President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces – backed by Russian air strikes – have made a string of gains against rebels in recent months. The capture of the town would also provide a central base for government troops and their allies to attack IS-held areas near the Iraqi border, observers say.

A Syrian army general said troops had “restored security and stability to al-Qaryatain and farms surrounding it” and would cut off IS supply routes between the east and the Qalamoun mountains region in the west.

Al-Qaryatain, about 80km (50 miles) west of Palmyra, was taken over by IS fighters in their first major offensive since they seized Palmyra last May. The mixed city had a large Christian population, many of whom fled, though dozens were abducted and reportedly taken to IS’ de facto capital, Raqqa. They were released weeks later, reports said.

There has been a dramatic drop in fighting in Syria since a partial ceasefire came into effect last month, though IS and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front were excluded and are still being targeted.

At least 25 people have been killed and dozens wounded in bomb attacks across Iraq, media reports say.

As many as 10 suicide bombers carried out the attacks, which reportedly targeted members of the security forces and allied Shia Muslim militias. The Islamic State (IS) group, which holds territory in the north and west, said it was behind some of the attacks.

In the deadliest attack, at least 14 people were killed when a bomber blew himself up in a restaurant.

The eatery was popular with members of the Popular Mobilisation, a predominantly Shia militia which has taken a lead role in the fight against IS, the Associated Press reports.

Other attacks hit the southern city of Basra, Baghdad and Mashada, north of the capital. In recent months government forces backed by Shia militias and US air strikes have regained control over significant parts of Iraq from IS.

On Sunday, the army said it had made progress in an offensive to recapture the western city of Hit, which has been under IS control for the last 18 months. It said it had taken the northern edge of Hit, about 140km (85 miles) from Baghdad, but was being slowed down by the presence of hundreds of roadside bombs planted by IS.

A previously unseen video of one of Britain’s most infamous spies describing his career as a Soviet agent has been uncovered by the BBC.

The tape is of Kim Philby giving a secret lecture to the Stasi, the East German Intelligence Service, in 1981. It is the first time the ex-MI6 officer can be seen talking about his life as a spy from his recruitment to his escape.

He describes his career rising up the ranks of MI6 whilst providing its secrets to the Soviet Union’s KGB. He ends with advice to the East German spies.

Dear Comrades

With those two words spoken in an impeccable upper-class English accent, one of Britain’s most famous spies and its greatest traitor begins a masterclass in betrayal to a select audience of East German spies. Philby’s hour-long address was preserved on video tape and never seen in public until now. It was never made for public consumption (and the grainy video and poorly synchronised sound shows the limits of technology at the time), but that means the former MI6 officer is open about his career in a way never heard before.

Enemy Camp

After an introduction from East German spymaster Markus Wolf, who was so elusive to western spy agencies that he was known for many years as “the man without a face”, Philby makes his way to the lectern to a hero’s welcome. “I must warn you that I am no public speaker,” Philby says. “I’ve spent most of my life trying to avoid publicity of any kind.” That much is true. Previously the best known video of Philby was him giving a 1955 press conference in his mother’s London flat.

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A man, 24, has been arrested at Gatwick Airport and a woman, 20, in west London on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences, West Midlands Police says.

There was “no risk to any passengers at Gatwick Airport or to the wider public” related to the arrests, the force said.

The man was detained by counter-terrorism officers before boarding a flight. The pair are now being held at a police station in the West Midlands.

Searches are being carried out at two addresses in Birmingham, police said.