Iranian-Kurdish rebel groups have for decades sought refuge in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, but they have recently come under fresh fire amid weeks of protests in the neighboring Islamic republic.

In the wake of demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini -- an Iranian woman of Kurdish origin -- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched missile and drone strikes on the bases of Kurdish groups in northern Iraq.

The roof is caved in, a wall has exploded and broken glass litters the floor at a base of the exiled Kurdish-Iranian opposition in mountainous northern Iraq.

"These are the regime's missiles," said Karim Farkhapour, a leader of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), with a revolver strapped to his traditional belt.

Qatari soccer fans hit back at Germany's World Cup protest on Sunday by holding pictures of former Germany player Mesut Özil while covering their mouths during the match against Spain.

A group of fans held copies of a hand-drawn sketch of Özil, while others showed pictures of him in action for Germany.

Two rockets targeted a U.S. patrol base in northeastern Syria late Friday, the third such attack in nine days, U.S. Central Command said.

In the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane, gripped by fear of a Turkish offensive, Saleh Abdo Khalil passes an open-air "museum" of buildings reduced to rubble.

"Daesh destroyed these buildings," the local baker said, using an acronym for Islamic State (IS) group jihadists who previously terrorized this region.

Egypt announced late Thursday the release of 30 political activists from jail, the latest in a series of mass releases from detention amid intensifying international scrutiny over the country's human rights record.

There was no immediate word on the identities of the activists and it was not immediately possible to confirm how many of them have already been freed.

Extremist politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has a long record of anti-Arab rhetoric and stunts, will become Israel's next minister of national security, according to the first of what are expected to be several coalition deals struck by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.

Likud announced the agreement with Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party on Friday.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to return to office, from where he could try to make his yearslong legal troubles disappear through new legislation advanced by his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies. Critics say such a legal crusade is an assault on Israel's democracy.

Netanyahu, 73, who is on trial for corruption, will likely be buoyed by a loyal and comfortable governing majority that could grant him a lifeline from conviction.

Less than a month before it is set to host the World Cup final, Lusail City is oddly quiet.

Wide empty streets, idle lobbies and construction cranes are everywhere in the sleek district 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the capital, Doha, built to accommodate World Cup fans and hundreds of thousands of host nation Qatar's residents.

It was uncharted territory for the Israeli journalist. Wandering through the rustic outdoor marketplace in Doha before the start of the World Cup, he zeroed in on a Qatari man in his traditional headdress and white flowing robe and asked for an interview.

"Which channel?" the Qatari asked. The journalist replied he was from Kan, Israel's public broadcaster.