The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that there were injuries among civilian crewmen of a vessel hit by Yemeni rebels in the strategic Bab al-Mandab waterway last week.

The foreign ministry did not say how many were wounded in the Friday night attack but said they were receiving treatment in the UAE.

One Turkish soldier was killed during clashes with extremist fighters in Syria as Ankara's ambitious operation in the country's north approaches its second month, state media reported on Wednesday.

Three other soldiers were slightly injured in the confrontation with Islamic State group militants in Ziyara, east of Al-Rai town, the official Anadolu news agency said, quoting the Turkish armed forces.

Twenty-eight Europe-bound migrants were found dead on a day of frantic rescues off Libya on Tuesday, including at least 22 in an overloaded wooden boat, an AFP photographer and the Italian coastguard said. 

Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence on Tuesday said the United States should attack Syrian government targets if Russia continues to support its campaign to retake Aleppo.

A group of women will try to reach the Gaza Strip on board a boat on Wednesday in a bid to break a decade-long blockade by Israel, a spokeswoman said.

U.N. humanitarian aid chief Stephen O'Brien on Tuesday described as "absolutely devastating" the sight of Yemeni children suffering malnutrition as a result of the country's 18-month conflict.

The custodian of Catholic sites in the Holy Land and the head of the Franciscan Order called Tuesday for a "safe zone" to be created in Syria's Aleppo as fighting there raged.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said "victory is near" as he pledged to recapture Mosul from jihadists, in a radio address to residents of the city on Tuesday.

Moscow said Tuesday it hopes "political wisdom" will prevail in Washington regarding cooperation in Syria after the United States dropped ceasefire talks with Russia over its support of the regime in Damascus. 

Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday that it had sent an S-300 missile system to its naval facility in the Syrian city of Tartus, a measure it says is meant to bolster its security. 

"The S-300 anti-aircraft missile system has indeed been sent to the Syrian Arab Republic," defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.