Police and medical officials say seven Iranian Shiite pilgrims traveling in central Iraq were wounded when their bus came under attack by unidentified gunmen.

The officials said late Sunday that the bus carrying 10 pilgrims was north of the capital of Baghdad when gunmen opened fire.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said his government maintained "low-level" contact through its spy agency with the Syrian regime despite being one of its most fervent critics.

Israel said Sunday that work to strengthen its border with the Gaza Strip had entered a new phase, with construction starting on a massive new barrier along the frontier.

On a rooftop near the front line with the Islamic State group's collapsing caliphate in eastern Syria, a U.S.-backed fighter and his comrades sip tea as they await orders to restart the battle.

A roadside bomb has struck a bus carrying teachers in Manbij killing one person, the latest in a spate of attacks in the northern Syrian city since mid-January, a war monitor said.

Algeria's ruling coalition on Saturday named President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as its candidate for April polls, although the ailing incumbent has yet to officially confirm he will run.

Iraq has resumed oil deliveries to neighboring Jordan as the premiers of both countries met along their shared border as part of a bid to boost trade.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi met with his Jordanian counterpart Omar al-Razzaz at the Treibil border crossing, referred to as Al-Karameh in Jordan, which reopened in August 2017.

Egypt's military says it has killed eight jihadists in air strikes in the Western Desert, as it leads a major campaign against the Islamic State group.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for urgent "respect" for a ceasefire accord in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid through in the conflict-weary country.

The head of the U.N. mission in Yemen launched talks between the government and Huthi rebels aboard a boat in the Red Sea on Sunday aimed at shoring up a ceasefire, a government official said.