Kuwait has denied that two of its citizens arrested in Iran were spying, saying they were working for a private television channel and had obtained visas to enter the Islamic republic.

"An official source at the foreign ministry categorically denied the accusation," made against the two citizens, said a statement posted on the state-run KUNA news agency late on Sunday.

Three French hostages kidnapped by al-Qaida militants in Yemen more than five months ago are on their way home, a tribal official involved in their release said on Monday.

"They travelled by land to the Sultanate of Oman and will be flying to France from there," the chief who led the mediation efforts with al-Qaida militants told Agence France Presse.

Israeli air raids on the northern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian overnight and wounded four others, doctors said Monday, after a rocket attack on Israeli territory.

The raids destroyed a security post of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and left two other Palestinians missing, they said.

Iran has rejected claims by Manama that it has links to a "terrorist" cell busted in Bahrain, state television's website reported on Monday.

Amir Abdolahian, a deputy foreign minister in charge of Arab and African affairs, was quoted as saying that the "baseless allegation" had been "fabricated by the United States."

The Arab League is to hold a fresh meeting on Syria on Wednesday, an official said, amid signs of cracks in the resolve of the 22-member bloc to suspend Damascus over its lethal crackdown on protests.

The agenda for Wednesday's meeting includes an assessment of the degree to which Syria had applied its November 2 agreement with the Arab League to end its crackdown on protests.

The Bahraini judiciary on Sunday linked an alleged busted "terrorist" cell to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a day after announcing the arrest of five Bahrainis planning attacks in the Arab kingdom.

The five men are accused of belonging to a "terrorist group" with ties to the intelligence services of a foreign state, a judiciary spokesman said, quoted by state news agency BNA.

Russia will continue exporting arms to Syria since no international decision has been made outlawing it, said a top industry official quoted by the news agency Interfax Sunday.

Speaking at the Dubai Air Show, deputy director of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS) Viacheslav Dzirkaln said: "Since there is no restriction on arms deliveries to Syria, Russia respects its contractual obligations with the country."

France on Sunday condemned protesters' attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria and has summoned the Syrian ambassador, the foreign ministry said.

"These attacks are an attempt to intimidate the international community after the Arab League's courageous decision because of ongoing repression in Syria," a ministry statement said after the pan-Arab body suspended Syria.

Turkey on Sunday summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires to the foreign ministry in Ankara over attacks on its diplomatic missions and called on the international community for a united response to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

"Turkey summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires to the ministry ... and submitted a (diplomatic) note," the ministry said in a written statement.

Damascus on Sunday called for an urgent Arab summit to address the crisis in Syria, a day after the Arab League suspended the country's membership over its failure to implement a plan to end bloodshed.

"Syria demands an emergency Arab summit to address the crisis and its negative consequences in the Arab world," state television SANA reported.