A day after the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi during a U.S. raid in Syria, many questions remain on the operation and the jihadist group's future.

Moroccans waited anxiously Friday as rescuers with heavy diggers closed in on Rayan, a five-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for three nights.

A Danish court on Friday convicted three leaders of an Iranian Arab separatist group based in the Scandinavian country of spying for Saudi intelligence between 2012 and 2020.

Moroccans held their breath as emergency services worked Thursday to rescue a five-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for two days.

The boy, named as Rayan, had fallen down the narrow 32-metre (100-foot) well in his village near Bab Berred, in the northern tourist province of Chefchaouen, on Tuesday evening, local media said.

A U.S. special forces raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday killed the top leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, President Joe Biden said.

"Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS," Biden said in a statement. He said all Americans involved in the operation returned safely.

Israel's defense minister on Thursday visited the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, in a show of cooperation aimed at sending a message toward archenemy Iran.

Benny Gantz toured the U.S. naval base on the second day of his official visit to Bahrain — a strategically located Arab country in the heart of the Persian Gulf. Israel and Bahrain, which share a deep animosity toward Iran, established official relations in 2020.

The FBI has confirmed purchasing NSO Group's powerful spyware tool Pegasus, whose chronic abuse to surveil journalists, dissidents and human rights activists has long been established. It suggested its motivation was to "stay abreast of emerging technologies and tradecraft."

The agency added in a statement that it obtained a limited license from the Israeli firm "for product testing and evaluation only," never using it operationally or to support any investigation.

U.S. special operations forces conducted a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria overnight Thursday, in what the Pentagon said was a "successful mission." Residents and activists reported multiple deaths — including civilians — from the attack.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement that the mission was a success. "There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available."

Israel's outgoing attorney general has okayed a deal between the government and West Bank settlers that would retroactively authorize an outpost established without official approval, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

The move pushes forward the deal, which still needs a final green light from the country's defense minister, who signed on to the plan last year. It puts further strain on the country's fragile, ideologically-diverse governing coalition, which includes parties that support and oppose Palestinian statehood.

A clan-based militia government in the Arab world's poorest country is presenting the Biden administration with another foreign policy setback as Yemen's Houthis launch cross-border drone and ballistic-missile strikes rattling the wealthy oil and banking hubs of the Gulf.

In the face of three such strikes in as many weeks, U.S. officials are studying financial measures targeting the Houthis and the group's top figures. New sanctions are possible as soon as this week.