Rebels on Sunday routed forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi out of the key eastern oil town of Ras Lanuf and were pursuing them further west, Agence France Presse correspondents reported.

"The town is entirely in rebel hands. They are manning checkpoints in and out of the city and are pursuing Gadhafi forces west," one of the correspondents said.

A suspected al-Qaida attack on an army convoy killed six Yemeni soldiers and wounded four others on Sunday in Marib, east of the capital Sanaa, a military official said.

He said two vehicles were seized by the assailants in the attack about three kilometers (two miles) north of Marib.

An Israeli air strike killed two people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, medics said, a day after Palestinian militants said they were committed to calming tensions if Israel reciprocated.

"Two Palestinians were killed and another wounded Sunday morning in an Israeli air raid on targets east of Jabaliya," said Adham Abu Senmya, spokesman for the Gaza emergency services.

Algerian police again stifled an attempt by pro-reform activists to rally against the government in what has become a weekly ritual.

Only a few dozen demonstrators turned out on May 1 Square in central Algiers with the intention of marching to Martyrs Square some three kilometers away.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday the international mission in Libya was clear and focused and succeeding and had saved countless innocents from a "bloodbath" threatened by Moammar Gadhafi.

Under increasing pressure to explain his strategy to Americans, Obama gave his most detailed review of the conflict so far, and insisted American national interests were behind his decision to order U.S. forces into U.N.-mandated combat.

A Saudi man convicted of murder was beheaded by the sword in Arar in the kingdom's north on Saturday, the interior ministry said.

Sutam bin Ayd al-Salabi was sentenced to death for beating and stabbing Mossaed bin Ali al-Salabi to death during a dispute, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The Yemeni army killed six suspected al-Qaida fighters in a clash on Saturday in the southern province of Abyan, a stronghold of the Islamist network, a security source said.

"The al-Qaida members launched an armed attack on a military unit stationed at a power plant in Loder. The military responded, killing six of the attackers," the source told Agence France Presse.

Syria has freed 260 political detainees, including Islamists and Kurds, who were being held at the country's infamous Saydnaya prison, rights groups reported Saturday.

"Syrian authorities have freed 260 detainees, mainly Islamists but also including 14 Kurds, in a move that comes as part of the promises authorities made recently to boost freedom in Syria," Abdul Karim Rihawi, president of the Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights, told Agence France Presse.

Jordan's Islamic opposition, leftists and trade unions on Saturday demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit, who they blame for violence that has killed one person and injured 130.

"We demand the prime minister and intelligence chief (Mohammed Raqqad) quit," said Firas Mahadin of the March 24 youth group at a news conference organized by Islamists. "We have reached a point of no return."

Libyan rebels seized control of the strategic oil town of Ajdabiya on Saturday, marking their first significant victory over Colonel Moammar Gadhafi's forces since the start of the Western air strikes a week ago.

The rebels, backed by a barrage of Western bombardment, powered into the town, leaving a trail of destroyed tanks and military vehicles along the road, Agence France Presse correspondents at the scene reported.