At least 250 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have begun a hunger strike to protest their relocation to isolated cells, officials said.

The hunger strike, led by the militant Islamic Jihad group, comes amid heightened tensions in Israeli detention facilities following the escape of six prisoners from a high-security prison last month. All six were recaptured within a couple of weeks, but the escape embarrassed Israeli authorities and was hailed as a stroke of defiance by Palestinians.

Osman Touré was crying from the pain of repeated beatings and torture as he dialed his brother's cellphone number.

"I'm in prison in Libya," Touré said in that August 2017 call. "They will kill me if you don't pay 2,500 dinars in 24 hours."

Iraq's Shiite militias that often serve as a proxy for neighboring Iran have taken a beating in Iraq's election, while a Shiite cleric who set himself apart by taking a more nationalistic approach has emerged as Iraq's strongest political figure.

The results underscore growing divisions over Iran's heavy-handed influence in the country, weakening Iran's allies as it seeks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers and engage with its regional rival, Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will for the first time as premier meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, with Iran at the top of the agenda.

Bennett will travel Oct. 22 to meet Putin in the seaside resort city of Sochi, Russia, to discuss political, security and economic issues, including the Iran nuclear program. Israel and Russia have long kept the diplomatic door open.

Qatar's diplomatic point man on Afghanistan said Tuesday countries should engage the country's new Taliban rulers, warning that isolation could lead to instability and a wide-reaching security threat, as happened when al-Qaida used the country as a base to plot the 9/11 attacks.

Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani, Qatar's special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation in conflict resolution, said he's held conversations with the Taliban about combating terrorism. The Taliban, he said, are committed to fighting the Islamic State group, which is increasingly active in Afghanistan, and ensuring the country is not used by terrorist organizations. The sides have also discussed pressing issues related to the role of women in society, girls' access to education and the importance of an inclusive government.

Two days after Iraq's legislative election, pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim parties and armed groups on Tuesday denounced early poll results suggesting waning support as "manipulation" and a "scam".

Sunday's parliamentary election -- the fifth in the war-scarred country since the US-led invasion and overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003 -- was marked by a record low turnout of 41 percent.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called Tuesday on the United Nations Security Council to take action against Iran over its escalating nuclear program.

Bennett spoke at a conference in Jerusalem, where he suggested that Iran's conduct is every nation's problem, and subject to global accountability.

A car bomb exploded in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters Monday, killing at least four people, rescue workers and a war monitor said.

Turkey's president, meanwhile, said his country was losing patience with attacks from Syria targeting Turkey.

An alliance of Iraqi candidates representing Shiite militias supported by neighboring Iran has emerged as the biggest loser in the country's national elections, according to partial results released Monday.

The results, posted online successively, also showed the bloc of Iraq's populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr maintaining the most seats in parliament, leading in several of Iraq's 18 provinces, including the capital Baghdad. Al-Sadr, a maverick leader remembered for leading an insurgency against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, appeared to have increased his movement's seats in the 329-member parliament from 54 in 2018 to more than 70.

An Afghan army deserter who murdered three Australian soldiers had been released from custody in Qatar and his whereabouts were not known, officials said on Monday.

The soldier known as Hekmatullah fled after shooting dead the Australian soldiers and wounding two others on a base in 2012 and was sentenced to death in 2013.