At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured after an arms depot exploded in the Sadr City district of the Iraqi capital late Wednesday, security and medical sources said.

The US Justice Department announced Wednesday that an American alleged Islamic State group combatant held in Iraq for over eight months would be released, potentially defusing a troubling detainee test case for the Trump administration.

After eight years of military service, Syrian conscript Sonel Ali swapped his drab army uniform for bright civilian clothes last week as he packed his things one last time.

Tunisia on Wednesday announced the sacking of officials accused of negligence over a shipwreck this weekend that killed at least 66 migrants.

A Palestinian who threw a rock at Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday was shot dead by a soldier, the Israeli army said in a statement.

NATO on Wednesday declined an overture by Qatar to join the Western military defence alliance, saying membership was reserved to the United States and Europe.

On the first anniversary of a bitter Gulf diplomatic rift, Qatar's foreign minister on Tuesday declared his country stronger than ever and said it was open to dialogue with its regional rivals.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also rebuked Qatar's foes for "imaginary victories" against the small Gulf state, the target of a Saudi-led boycott.

There has recently been a "significant escalation" in Egypt's crackdown on social dissent, the UN said Tuesday, warning that arbitrary detention in the country had become a "chronic problem".

A powerful Syrian Kurdish militia announced Tuesday it will withdraw from Manbij, a day after key brokers Ankara and Washington held talks on the fate of the strategic town.

An air strike on an area in northeastern Syria still held by the Islamic State group has killed at least 11 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday.