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Nato countries are taking part in their biggest ever joint military exercises in Poland, amid concerns about a potential threat from Russia.

Some 31,000 Polish, US and other troops are participating in the land, sea and air exercises called Anaconda-16. It comes weeks before a Nato summit at which leaders are expected to decide to base a significant number of Nato troops in Poland and the Baltic states.

Russia says Nato troops close to its borders are a threat to its security. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: «We do not hide that we have a negative attitude toward the Nato line of moving its military infrastructure to our borders, drawing other countries into military unit activities. «This will activate the Russian sovereign the right to provide its own safety with methods that are adequate for today’s risks.»

The Anaconda exercises began in 2006 and take place every two years. About 12,000 Polish and 14,000 US troops will take part this time, as well as 1,000 from the UK and others from Nato states and five partner nations.

The exercises are intended to test Nato’s ability to respond to threats.  But the BBC’s correspondent in Warsaw, Adam Easton, says there’s been a heightened sense of alarm in eastern Europe since Russia annexed Crimea two years ago and Anaconda is a way of reassuring those countries that the Nato military alliance is serious about their security.

A car bomb attack targeting a police bus has killed at least 11 people in central Istanbul, officials say.

The explosives were remotely detonated as the vehicle passed through the busy Vezneciler district at the morning rush hour. No group has said it carried out the attack.

Violence in Turkey has escalated recently as a result of tensions with Kurdish separatists and the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or one of its offshoots who have claimed other attacks on security targets in Turkey this year, says  Mark Lowen, in Istanbul.

The explosion happened near the city’s historic Beyazit Square neighbourhood, a major tourist attraction, and an Istanbul university building. Four civilians and seven police officers were among the dead, Istanbul’s governor, Vasip Sahin, said. Some 36 other people were injured, he added. «There was a loud bang. We thought it was lightning, but right at that second the windows of the shop came down. It was extremely scary,» an unidentified eyewitness told Reuters news agency.

Cold-hearted

Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the attackers were «cold-heartedly» exploding bombs on the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which is in its second day. In an interview with state-run TRT television, he also said Turkey was fighting on all fronts against «any form of terrorism.»

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The Iraqi government has been urged to investigate allegations that civilians detained during the battle for Falluja have been tortured by Shia militiamen.

An Anbar provincial council member said that hundreds were held as government forces fought Islamic State militants in the suburb of Saqlawiya. Those released showed signs of severe torture, Sheikh Raja al-Issawi said.

Four people died as a result of their injuries and others were in a critical condition in hospital, he added.

Shia militias have been accused of committing serious abuses against Sunni civilians while helping the Iraqi government regain territory it lost to so-called Islamic State (IS) in 2014.

The militias have denied the accusations, but the government has said they will be held back from the final assault on Falluja, a predominantly Sunni city, amid fears of sectarian reprisals.

Security forces and members of the Popular Mobilisation, a paramilitary force that is dominated by Shia militias, advanced into Saqlawiya over the weekend. The town, about 7km (four miles) north-west of Falluja, was an IS stronghold and military sources said resistance was fierce. Sheikh Issawi said that 605 people detained during the fighting had been taken to the al-Mazraa army base, east of Falluja, on Sunday night. Those subsequently freed said they had been tortured by members of the Popular Mobilisation during interrogation to ensure they were not IS militants, he added.

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Five people have been killed in an attack on Jordanian intelligence officers at a Palestinian refugee camp near the capital, Amman, government officials say.

They described the incident, rare in Jordan, as a «terrorist attack». Three of the five people killed were intelligence officers, the officials said.

The attack took place at the sprawling Baqaa camp north of Amman at about 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT). The Baqaa camp was one of six set up in 1968 for Palestinian refugees fleeing the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Jordan is a key member of the US-led coalition fighting so-called Islamic State in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, and its air force has carried out strikes in both countries. No-one has yet said they carried out the Baqaa attack.

Criminal Behaviour

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said the «cowardly» attack targeted the intelligence agency office at the camp. He gave no details of the attack but said it was carried out by those with the «criminal behaviour of people who are outside of our religion».

Mr Momani said two of those killed were a guard and a telephone exchange operator.

A security source later told AFP news agency that initial findings suggested the attack was carried out by a lone gunman with an automatic weapon. The attack took place on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In March, Jordan said it had foiled planned attacks by so-called Islamic State when a military raid in the city of Irbid left seven suspected jihadist militants dead. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says Baqaa is the largest camp in Jordan. It is believed to house more than 100,000 refugees.

UNRWA says the camp continues to face major challenges, including unemployment, poverty and the need for structural repair. Jordan is also a major host of refugees from the Syrian civil conflict, caring for 635,000 of the 4.6 million Syrians the UN has registered. More than 80,000 Syrians live in Jordan’s second largest refugee camp, Zaatari.

Earlier this year, King Abdullah said his country was at «boiling point» because of the influx.

A Frenchman detained last month with a large cache of arms was planning mass attacks during the Euro 2016 football tournament, which starts on Friday, Ukrainian officials say.

The man, identified by French media as Gregoire Moutaux, 25, was arrested on the Ukrainian border with Poland. Intelligence chief Vasyl Hrytsak said the man had planned 15 attacks and was driven by ultra-nationalist views. He had amassed guns, detonators and 125kg of TNT, Mr Hrytsak said.

Mr Hrytsak listed bridges, motorways, a mosque and a synagogue among the suspect’s potential targets. He was being prosecuted for arms smuggling and terrorism, he said. It was not clear if the tournament itself was being targeted and Paris police prefect Michel Cadot told reporters there was «no specific threat against any [Euro 2016] site».

News of the man’s arrest on 21 May first emerged in a report by French TV network M6. The suspect was described as a worker at a farming co-operative from the Lorraine area of eastern France. He had no previous criminal record, reports said.

French authorities have been on high security alert ahead of the European championships, amid fears that the tournament could be targeted by Islamist militants. President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that «the threat exists» but that France should not be daunted.

Ukraine’s SBU security service said it had been watching the suspect since December last year and that he had picked up five Kalashnikovs, two anti-tank grenade launchers, some 5,000 rounds of ammunition and 100 detonators, as well as a large quantity of explosives.

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