An estimated 25,000 people have fled escalating violence over the last six months in eastern Syria, where die-hard jihadists are defending their last bastions, the UN said Friday. 

The UN envoy to Yemen said he was "alarmed" over the escalation of violence after a rebel drone attack on the country's largest airbase killed six loyalist soldiers.

Bahrain on Friday rejected a UN call to release prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, saying he is serving a five-year sentence for "false" tweets "which do not fall within freedom of expression".

The remarks by the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Crimes came a week after the UN human rights office called on Bahrain to "immediately and unconditionally release" Nabeel Rajab.

Egyptian authorities have confirmed two German nationals suspected of attempting to join an Islamic State group affiliate have been arrested, and one was deported, Egyptian security sources said Friday. 

German media reported earlier this month that two Germans had gone missing after arriving separately in Egypt in December.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the Trump administration's anti-Iran message to Gulf Arab states on Friday as he continued a nine-nation tour of the Middle East aimed at reassuring America's partners that withdrawing troops from Syria does not mean Washington is abandoning the region.

Pompeo was traveling to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates where he will call for increasing pressure on Iran and push for unity among Gulf neighbors still embroiled in a festering dispute with Qatar. He'll also be promoting a U.S.-backed initiative to form what some have termed an "Arab NATO" that would bring the region together in a military alliance to counter threats from Iran.

The US-led military coalition in Syria has begun pulling out troops, a spokesman said on Friday without elaborating on locations or timetables.

Israeli authorities on Thursday released to house arrest four of five Jewish minors held on suspicion of involvement in a fatal stone-throwing attack on a Palestinian woman, lawyers and officials said.

Iraqi special forces deployed Thursday in Kirkuk after the raising of the Kurdish flag over a political party headquarters revived tensions more than a year after Baghdad seized the disputed northern city.

A mentally ill Palestinian man who stabbed a British woman to death near Jerusalem's Old City was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday by an Israeli court.

Amnesty International on Thursday called for an international investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in a ceremony marking the 100th day since his killing sparked global outrage.