JERUSALEM, March 17 (Reuters) - Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Iran's security chief Ali Larijani had been killed in an Israeli strike.

There was no confirmation from Iran.

(Reporting by Mayaan Lubell, Writing by Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

BEIRUT, March 17 (Reuters) - Five Lebanese soldiers were wounded, two critically, in an Israeli air strike in the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said on Tuesday, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

The soldiers, struck while travelling by car and motorcycle, were taken to hospital, it said in a post on X.

The strike comes amid intensifying Israeli attacks across Lebanon, which have killed more than 880 people and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities.

GENEVA, March 17 (Reuters) - A U.N. inquiry has started investigating a fatal strike on a primary school on the first day of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, one of its members told reporters on Tuesday.

The attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School consisted of two missile strikes in quick succession that killed 168 children, mostly girls, Iranian officials said in Geneva on Monday.

March 17 (Reuters) - An air strike by Pakistan on Monday that the Afghan government says killed hundreds of civilians has led to an escalation in the conflict between the South Asian neighbours.

Here is a look at what happened.

WHERE WAS THE ATTACK?

The Afghan Taliban government says the Pakistani air strike targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in the capital Kabul, killing at least 408 people and injuring 265 more.

Here are the latest developments Tuesday in the Middle East war:

- Ukrainian anti-drone experts -

Some 201 Ukrainian anti-drone military experts were in several Middle East countries to help defend against Iranian-designed drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

- US embassy struck -

The US embassy in Baghdad was the target of a drone and rocket attack, a security official said.

The strike sparked a fire on embassy grounds, the source said, while a witness reported seeing the fire from her balcony.

- Crowds gather in Iran -

BRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - The European Union has started taking the unpredictability of the United States into account one year after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday.

"Of course, we are allies with America, but we don't really understand their moves recently," Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

BRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday diplomatic ways have to be found in order to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as U.S. President Donald Trump calls on allies to send warships there to secure transit amid the war in Iran.

"Nobody is ready to put their people in harm's way in the Strait of Hormuz. We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don't have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well," Kallas said in an interview with Reuters.

By Sudarshan Varadhan, Emily Chow and Ariba Shahid

SINGAPORE/KARACHI, March 17 (Reuters) - Asian utilities are boosting coal-fired power generation to cut costs and safeguard energy supply, industry officials say, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran chokes liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and soaring prices threaten to suppress LNG demand.

Asia spot LNG prices have doubled to three-year highs in the second major supply shock in four years, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has all but stopped and No.2 global exporter Qatar has halted shipments.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Britain, Finland and the Netherlands are looking at teaming up to jointly finance and procure weapons, munitions and military equipment, given the increasing threat level across the world, with war in Ukraine and in the Middle East.

The three countries said that together with other unnamed partners they were exploring setting up a new mechanism by 2027 which would speed up investment and boost demand for defence kit, a statement from Britain said on Tuesday.

DUBAI, March 17 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister said Baghdad is talking to Iran about allowing some of the country's oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state news agency reported on Tuesday, as Iraq seeks to ease disruptions to crude exports following recent attacks on tankers in its own waters.

Iraq is also working to restore a disused pipeline that would allow oil to be pumped directly to Turkey's Ceyhan port without passing through the Kurdistan region, Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said in a video statement released on Monday.