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ByFosterKlugand Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA NorthKoreatookasignif- icant step Wednesday in the development of a pow- erful ballistic missile in- tended to reach U.S. bases in the Pacific, launching one of the weapons about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) high after five failed attempts in recent months. The North's suspected Musudan tests worry Washington and its al- lies, Tokyo and Seoul, be- cause the missile's poten- tial 3,500-kilometer (2,180- mile) range puts much of Asia and the Pacific, in- cluding U.S. military bases there, within reach. Japanese Defense Minis- ter Gen Nakatani said the most recent launch dem- onstrated a "certain level of capability," and could lead to a further strength- ening of North Korea's bal- listic missile capabilities that can cover Japanese territory. Each new test — appar- ently linked to a command from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — likely pro- vides valuable insights to the North's scientists and military officials as they push toward their goal of a nuclear and missile pro- gram that can threaten the U.S. mainland. Pyongyang earlier this year conducted a nu- clear test, its fourth, and launched a long-range rocket that outsiders say was a cover for a test of banned missile technology. A statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said a suspected first Musudan launch from the east coast city of Wonsan failed. It didn't elaborate, but Japan's Defense Min- istry said the missile frag- mented and pieces fell into waters off the Korean Pen- insula's east coast. Later on Wednesday, the South's military said the North fired another sus- pected Musudan, which flew about 400 kilometers (245 miles). Seoul didn't immediately classify this launch as either a success or failure. Japan's Defense Minis- try said that its radar anal- ysis found that the missile reached an altitude ex- ceeding 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), which suggests it was a Musudan missile. "We have to see it as a success," Lee Choon Geun, an analyst at South Ko- rea's state-funded Sci- ence and Technology Pol- icy Institute, said of the second launch. "No other (previous) missiles fired by North Korea have ever flown that high." The U.S. Strategic Com- mand in Hawaii said its systems detected and tracked two suspected North Korean Musudan missiles that fell into the Sea of Japan. They didn't pose a threat to North America, it said. In April, North Ko- rea attempted unsuccess- fully to launch three sus- pected Musudan missiles, but all exploded midair or crashed, according to South Korean defense of- ficials. Earlier this month, North Korea had another suspected Musudan fail- ure, South Korean offi- cials said. Before April's launches, North Korea had never flight-tested a Musudan missile, although one was displayed during a mil- itary parade in 2010 in Pyongyang. The launches appear to stem from Kim Jong Un's order in March for more nuclear and ballistic mis- sile tests. The order was an apparent response to springtime U.S.-South Ko- rean military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. Since the end of those military drills, Pyong- yang has repeatedly called for the resumption of talks with Seoul, even as it pur- sues new missile develop- ment, but the South has rejected the overtures. Seoul wants the North to first take steps toward nu- clear disarmament. Pyong- yang says its rivals must negotiate with it as an es- tablished nuclear power, something Washington and Seoul refuse to do. The string of recent launch attempts shows the North is pushing hard to upgrade its missile capa- bility in defiance of U.S.- led international pressure. The North was slapped with the strongest U.N. sanctions in two decades after its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year. 5 FAILED ATTEMPTS NorthKoreamakesapparent progress with midrange missile LEEJIN-MAN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A man watches a TV news program reporting about a missile launch in North Korea, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea. COUNTEROFFENSIVE VADIM SAVITSKY — RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE POOL PHOTO Russian fighter jets and bombers are parked at Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Syrian government has suffered serious setbacks in its campaign to retake the Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa, even with Russia's support. By Philip Issa and Susannah George The Associated Press BEIRUT Even as interna- tionally backed forces chip away at Islamic State-held territory in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the militants have demonstrated a stubborn resilience this week in the face of recent losses. The IS forces dealt an embarrassing setback to the Syrian army near the militants' self-styled cap- ital of Raqqa with a swift counteroffensive that rolled back incremental gains by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad. Pockets of extremist fighters north and west of Fallujah continued to hold off elite Iraqi special forces Wednesday, preventing them from making signif- icant advances one month after the government launched its campaign to retake the city west of Bagh- dad. And in the battle for the Libyan city of Sirte, pro- government forces besieg- ing the IS stronghold were stunned by renewed clashes there, with 36 people killed, a hospital spokesman said. Just two weeks ago, the Islamic State had suffered setbacks in all three coun- tries in the region where the Sunni militant group cap- tured large tracts of terri- tory in Iraq and Syria two years ago. Seesaw battles raged in Syria's Raqqa province, with IS fighters retaking ar- eas from government forces Tuesday. Two days earlier, the Syrian troops briefly seized an IS-held oilfield in Thawra and threatened to retake the Tabqa air base, which would have opened a direct line for troops to the city of Raqqa. The government began its highly publicized cam- paign to retake Raqqa on June 2. On Sunday, the troops advanced to within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of the Tabqa base, which is about 28 miles (45 kilometers) from Raqqa and holds strategic and symbolic value for the government. It was the last position held by govern- ment forces in Raqqa prov- ince before the militants overran it in August 2014, killing scores of detained Syrian soldiers in a massa- cre documented on IS video. The commander of an elite, pro-government mi- litia known as the Desert Hawks explained the gov- ernment's rapid withdrawal from large parts of Raqqa province. "It is vital to understand that (IS) adopted new tac- tics to fight the Desert Hawks in this area," said re- tired Gen. Mohamad Jaber. Writing on his Facebook page Tuesday, he said the militants were sending ex- plosives-packed vehicles at the pro-government line, and he predicted the battle for Tabqa would be "harsh and mighty." Activists gave conflict- ing casualty counts for ci- vilians killed in airstrikes on the city of Raqqa, with death tolls ranging from 18 to 32. Differing casualty fig- ures are common in report- ing from Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year. The activists said the Syrian air force, backed by warplanes from its ally, Russia, had pummeled the Islamic State extremists af- ter government losses ear- lier this week. The U.S.-led coalition also has been bombing Raqqa. Col. Christopher Garver, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the coali- tion, told The Associated Press that four airstrikes were carried out Tuesday near Raqqa. They targeted an IS tactical unit, a finance center, a headquarters and an oil facility, Garver said. He had no reports on casu- alties. The activist group known as Raqqa Is Being Slaugh- tered Silently said at least one of the airstrikes tar- geted a neighborhood popu- lar among "foreign fighters" — militants who have trav- eled to Syria to fight with the IS group. In northern Syria, U.S.- backed Syrian Kurdish forces encircled IS mili- tants in the town of Man- bij, a vital position that con- nects the Turkish border to Raqqa. As the Iraqi military of- fensive to retake Fallujah entered its second month Wednesday, clashes con- tinued to try to dislodge IS militants from besieged neighborhoods. Iraqi special forces pushed into the center of the city last week and re- took a government com- pound and the central hos- pital. Officials said they are still working to secure the territory. At the central hospi- tal, Corp. Ahmad Ahmad warned that only parts of the first floor were fully cleared of homemade bombs because teams spe- cializing in defusing the ex- plosives are in short supply and have been mostly de- ployed to help troops on the front lines. Ahmad said his forces had not preformed house- to-house searches in sur- rounding buildings, in- cluding the Khalifa Mosque along Fallujah's main high- way. Islamic State militants push back in Syria, Iraq and Libya By Sam Mcneil and Dominique Soguel The Associated Press AMMAN, JORDAN Syrian refugees stranded along the Jordanian border said Wednesday that clean water is getting scarce in their des- ert tent camp after the area was sealed by Jordan in re- sponsetoadeadlycross-bor- der attack. Cellphone footage taken in the Ruqban camp showed refugees chanting, "We want water." Three Ruqban residents said by phone that people have begun drinking polluted water. Some 64,000 Syrians live in two encampments along the border, awaiting ad- mission to Jordan. Many have been in the camps for months and depend on daily deliveries of food and water by international aid agen- cies based in Jordan. Jordan declared the area a"closedmilitaryzone"after a car bomb attack launched from the Ruqban area killed six Jordanian troops and wounded 14 at dawn Tues- day.Therehasbeennoclaim of responsibility, but Jordan says it has evidence that mil- itants, including Islamic State fighters, are present in the camps. King Abdullah II warned after the attack that Jordan will "respond with an iron fist" to anyone harming its borders or security. Jordan-based interna- tionalaidofficialsconfirmed Wednesday that the border area was sealed and that they couldn't send aid there. However, they gave conflict- ing accounts of whether any water had been delivered to the camps since the attack. The officials spoke on con- dition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. Jordanian government spokesmanMohammedMo- mani could not be reached for comment. The U.N. refugee agency said it is working with other aid groups and Jordanian authorities to get water de- livered. Agency spokesman Andreas Needham in Ge- neva said such deliveries are a priority, but would not elaborate. The London-based rights group Amnesty Interna- tional said that a total bor- der closure and denial of humanitarian aid "would inevitably lead to extreme hardship among those un- able to find refuge and put their lives at risk." The group said Jordan has a right to protect civil- ians from armed attacks, but that its security mea- sures "must not violate its international legal obliga- tions to provide protection and assistance to refugees who are desperately fleeing the very same type of vio- lence." Ahmad al-Masalmeh, a Syrian opposition activist based in the southern bor- der province of Deraa, said that innocent people have started "paying the price of the explosion." 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