Lawyers for the former spy chief of slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday launched an appeal against the International Criminal Court's historic ruling that he should be tried in Libya.

The ICC ruled last week that Abdallah al-Senussi, 63, should face trial in Libya, the first time it has deferred a case to a national judiciary.

Egypt on Thursday denied it was mistreating Syrian refugees following a report by Amnesty International accusing authorities of unlawfully detaining and deporting hundreds of Syrians fleeing civil war.

In a statement, Egypt's foreign ministry said the content of Amnesty's report was "inaccurate and does not reflect the reality of their situation in the country."

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who forced his way into a West Bank army base on Thursday, the military and Palestinian security officials said.

An army spokeswoman said he was shot when he crashed a tractor through the perimeter fence of the camp. The Palestinians said he died of his wounds in an Israeli hospital, and named him as Yusef Ahmed al-Radaydeh, 30.

Fugitive Iraqi vice president Tareq al-Hashemi, sentenced to death on murder charges, said Thursday he would return home if the EU could help guarantee him a fair trial.

"My case is politically motivated and the charges are absolutely fabricated," Hashemi told a press conference in Brussels.

Syrian asylum seekers are living camped out in between commuters and tourists at Milan's busy rail hub, their number growing by the day as charities and city officials try to help.

Dozens of migrants are turning into hundreds at the city's central train station, their attempts to reach longed-for destinations in northern Europe thwarted by stepped-up border controls.

Rebels have killed a top intelligence officer in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, Syrian state media said on Thursday.

"Major General Jamaa Jamaa was martyred while carrying out his national duties to defend Syria and its people and pursuing terrorists in Deir Ezzor," state television said in a breaking news alert.

Syria's chemical weapons stockpile could be shipped out of the country to be safely destroyed elsewhere, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

The top U.S. diplomat commented as the world's chemical weapons watchdog said it had completed nearly half of its inspections of Syrian sites where such arms are stored.

Turkey denied Thursday a U.S. newspaper report claiming it had blown an Israeli spy ring working with Iranians on its soil to the authorities in Tehran, a sign of the strained ties between the once close allies.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government had last year revealed to Iranian intelligence the identities of up to 10 Iranians who had been meeting in Turkey with Mossad handlers.

The Pentagon said Thursday it plans to sell Washington's Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates $10.8 billion worth of missiles and munitions, including "bunker-buster" bombs.

The move follows a series of U.S. weapons deals in recent years that have bolstered the air power and missile arsenals of Gulf states, which view Iran as a menacing rival with nuclear ambitions.

Syria's opposition National Coalition said Thursday it will attend a "Friends of Syria" meeting in London on October 22 that is expected to focus on proposed peace talks.

The key opposition grouping said it would also hold internal discussions in Istanbul next week, culminating with a vote on whether to attend the proposed November peace meeting in Geneva.