A bloody, age-old custom used by Iraq's powerful tribes to mete out justice has come under fire, with authorities classifying it as a "terrorist act" punishable by death.

Yemeni rebels have said they are ready to mobilize more fighters to the frontline despite a lull in battleground Hodeida, as the U.N. envoy prepares to visit the country to boost peace efforts.

The U.S.-led anti-jihadist coalition hit back Sunday at reports its air strikes on an Islamic State group holdout in eastern Syria had killed civilians, appearing to blame their deaths on regime forces.

Egyptian authorities have rounded up at least 40 rights workers, activists and lawyers since late October and detained them in "undisclosed locations", Human Rights Watch said Sunday.

"Many of those arrested were people who provided humanitarian and legal support to families of political detainees," HRW said, calling on the government to reveal their whereabouts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday it would be "unnecessary and wrong" to call snap polls, as he sought to hold his governing coalition together following the resignation of his defense minister.

The United States will make final conclusions by early next week over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump has said, following reports that the CIA had held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible.

Coalition air strikes Saturday killed at least 36 civilians related to the Islamic State group in a jihadist holdout in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border, a Britain-based monitor said.

Divided by war, one thing unites Yemenis in rebel-held Sanaa and state-controlled Aden -- four years into a conflict that has triggered a tragic humanitarian crisis, people just want peace.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported Friday, citing people close to the matter.

Saudi Arabia has sought to draw a line under one of its biggest crises triggered by critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but an ever greater threat of international scrutiny and pressure hang over the kingdom.

Riyadh on Thursday exonerated powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of involvement in the murder as it called for the death penalty against five men, and as the United States, a key ally, slapped sanctions on 17 suspects.