Two Afghan soldiers with suspected Taliban links killed at least 12 of their comrades as they slept in the volatile northern province of Kunduz, officials said Tuesday in the latest so-called "insider attack."

Bombings claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group hit shopping areas in Shiite districts of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 17 people, security and medial officials said.

Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have issued detention warrants for 121 people as part of an ongoing investigation into the July 15 failed coup.

Turkey accuses U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the coup attempt that led to more than 270 deaths, and the government has launched a massive crackdown on his followers.

Police say a mosque and an international congress center were attacked in two explosions in the German city of Dresden, but that nobody was injured.

Dresden police said in a statement Tuesday the explosions took place late Monday, and there was no immediate report on the extent of damage.

Schools and offices have been closed on Taiwan and people in dangerous areas have been evacuated as a large typhoon with 162 kilometers- (100 miles-) per-hour winds approaches the island.

National Fire Agency Director-General Chen Wen-lung said authorities are on high alert because Typhoon Megi is expected to cover the entire mountainous island. Landfall is forecast Tuesday evening.

The European Union is launching a 348 million euro ($391 million) aid project to help the most vulnerable refugees in Turkey — part of a landmark deal with Turkey aimed at curbing the flow of migrants to Europe.

Up to a million refugees living outside of camps would receive debit cards that would be topped up every month, which would allow them to buy food and meet other needs.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appears in a new video denying Nigerian military reports that he was fatally wounded and taunting parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls that they will only see their daughters again if the government swaps them for detained Islamic extremist leaders.

Shekau warns the people of Chibok that "you have not seen the worst yet," and laughs maniacally. Nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from a government school in Chibok in April 2014 and 217 remain missing.

Iranian banks have begun issuing credit cards for the first time in decades, local media reported on Monday.

The report by several newspapers, including the daily Donya-e-Eqtesad or World of Economy in Farsi, said the cards will be for domestic use only and do not involve any sort of partnership with a major international credit card company.

A pair of moderate earthquakes rattled northern and southern Japan on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and there was no danger of a tsunami.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the first quake had a magnitude of 5.5 and occurred just off the southern coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, at 2:13 p.m. It said that the quake had a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), and that there was no danger of a tsunami.

A prominent and outspoken Jordanian writer on Sunday was shot dead in front of the courthouse where he had been on trial for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.

There were no immediate details on the identity or motive of the gunman. But a witness described the shooter, who was immediately arrested, as wearing a long grey robe and long beard characteristic of conservative Muslims. The shooting was the latest in a string of deadly security lapses in Jordan.