Iraqi authorities are prosecuting children suspected of ties to the Islamic State group in a "deeply flawed" process, using flimsy accusations or confessions obtained through torture, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. 

Israeli jets struck a Hamas military target in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for balloon-borne explosive devices late Tuesday, the army said, the fourth such strike in recent days.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel ahead of its April 9 election but will not be involved in the country's domestic politics, the State Department said Tuesday.

Iran has released three Jordanians it arrested in December after they strayed into Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf, Jordan's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Yemen's government and its Saudi and Emirati backers are accusing Huthi rebels of refusing to abide by a deal agreed two weeks ago on redeploying forces away from Red Sea ports in the war-battered country, according to a letter seen by AFP on Tuesday.

When an Algerian businessman was ruled ineligible to stand in April's presidential election, his cousin and namesake stepped forward to take his place.

US-backed forces prepared Tuesday to pluck more civilians out of the Islamic State group's last Syrian stronghold, after evacuating almost 3,000 people including hundreds of fighters over the past 48 hours.

Thousands of Algerian students marched on Tuesday in protest at ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's determination to stand for re-election, brushing aside his pledge not to serve a full fifth term.

The United States has deployed its advanced THAAD missile defense system temporarily to Israel for a joint military exercise, the first of its kind, officials said Monday.

Qatar on Monday told rival Saudi Arabia not to meddle in its potential arms purchases from Russia, as the Gulf state weighs the controversial purchase of an air defense system.