Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday to expand cross-border operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, following the killing of 13 Turkish soldiers, police and civilians who had been abducted by Kurdish insurgents.

In a speech to his ruling party's supporters, Erdogan also said that the killings have strengthened Turkey's will to form a secure zone along its border in northern Iraq to protect Turkey's frontiers from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Hamas on Tuesday blasted Israel's refusal to allow some 2,000 coronavirus vaccine doses destined for Gaza health workers through its blockade of the territory as a "violation" of international law. 

The UN’s humanitarian chief said Tuesday he was "very alarmed" by a Huthi rebel advance on the Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold, saying an assault on Marib could endanger millions of civilians.

The United Nations warned Tuesday Iraq could spin out of control after a rocket attack on the Kurdish regional capital Arbil killed a foreign contractor and wounded several Iraqis and foreigners. 

Algeria on Monday sentenced several Hirak protest activists to jail, days before the second anniversary of the popular uprising that led to the ouster of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Qatar's foreign minister met his Iranian counterpart Monday, after Doha signaled its intention to mediate between Tehran and Washington over a landmark nuclear deal, an AFP journalist said.

A rocket attack targeting an airbase in Iraq's Kurdistan region late on Monday killed a foreign civilian contractor and wounded five others and a U.S. soldier, the U.S.-led coalition said.

At least three rockets targeted the Kurdish regional capital of Arbil, with one hitting a military complex at the Arbil airport where U.S.-led coalition troops are based. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday that "PKK terrorists" bore responsibility for the deaths of Turkish hostages in northern Iraq.

Israeli environmentalists are warning that a UAE-Israeli oil pipeline deal threatens unique Red Sea coral reefs and could lead to "the next ecological disaster." 

Iraq will re-impose partial lockdown measures until early March after detecting a new strain of the coronavirus, including among children, its health minister announced on Monday.