Morocco's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which was thrashed at last week's elections, on Sunday denounced "violations and irregularities" at the polls.

The PJD had headed Morocco's governing coalition for a decade but saw its support collapse at the September 8 vote, dropping from 125 of parliament's 395 seats to just 13.

Algerians looked back on two decades of "missed opportunities" as flags flew at half mast Sunday ahead of the funeral of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

His death at age 84 was announced late Friday, more than two years after the former strongman quit office.

Iraq has launched a new project that aims to recover gas normally set alight during oil extraction at two oilfields in the country's south.

Flaring, or burning off excess gas during oil extraction, is a highly polluting practice but far less costly than processing it for sale.

The United Nations, the United States and the United Kingdom on Sunday condemned the executions of nine Yemenis by the country's Houthi rebels over allegations that they were involved in the killing of a senior Houthi official in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition more than three years ago.

The Iranian-backed Houthis on Saturday publicity executed the nine by firing squad. Hundreds of people, mostly Houthis and their supporters, attended the execution in Tahrir Square in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Syria's defense minister met on Sunday with Jordan's army chief in Amman, the Jordanian capital, after Syrian troops captured several rebel-held areas near Jordan's border, state media reported.

The Hala Akhbar news site, which is linked to Jordan's military, reported that the meeting between Jordanian Gen. Yousef Huneiti and Syrian Gen. Ali Ayoub was "to increase coordination in the field of border security to serve the interests of the two brotherly countries."

Algeria prepared on Sunday to bury Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the North African country's longest-serving president, at a cemetery for its independence heroes but without the ceremony accorded to leaders who died before him. 

The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed an attack on a major natural gas pipeline southeast of the Syrian capital that led to power outages in the city and surrounding areas.

Israeli forces on Sunday arrested the last two of six Palestinian prisoners who escaped a maximum-security Israeli prison two weeks ago, closing an intense, embarrassing episode that exposed deep security flaws in Israel and turned the fugitives into Palestinian heroes.

The Israeli military said the two men surrendered in Jenin, their hometown in the occupied West Bank, after they were surrounded at a hideout that had been located with the help of "accurate intelligence." It said the men, along with two others who allegedly assisted them, were taken for questioning.

An attack with explosive devices laid along a natural gas pipeline southeast of Syria's capital knocked out power in parts of the country before it was quickly restored, the electricity minister said Saturday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the latest incidence of sabotage targeting Syria's oil and gas infrastructure. During the 10-year conflict, Syria's oil and gas infrastructure was subject to repeated attacks and many oil fields now lay outside of government-controlled areas.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who ruled Algeria for two decades before resigning in 2019 as huge protests engulfed the country, has died aged 84, public television announced.