Morocco, which has frequently reported the arrest of jihadists and is concerned over the number of its citizens fighting in Syria and Iraq, announced Saturday plans to bolster its security.

Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said new measures will be deployed progressively to "confront the different threats facing the kingdom," according to his office.

U.S.-led warplanes bombarded the Islamic State group Friday with new air strikes as heavily armed Iraqi Kurdish fighters were set to reinforce the besieged Syrian border town of Kobane.

Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. air power, have been holding out for weeks against an IS offensive around Kobane, which has become a high-profile symbol of efforts to stop the advance of the jihadists.

Several Iranian men arrested on suspicion of committing horrific acid attacks on women have been released due to insufficient evidence, the interior minister revealed Saturday.

The attacks in Isfahan, Iran's top tourist destination, have shocked the public and provoked a major protest there Wednesday from citizens who demanded better security and action over such violent crimes.

Israeli police clashed with Palestinians in east Jerusalem on Saturday and braced for more ahead of the funeral of a Palestinian driver who drove into a crowd, killing an Israeli baby.

With tensions further stoked after the army shot dead a West Bank teenager on Friday there were also reports of stoning of Israeli vehicles on roads around Ramallah.

The United States on Saturday condemned the hanging of a Iranian woman convicted of murdering a former intelligence officer she claimed had tried to sexually assault her.

"We condemn this morning's execution in Iran of Reyhaneh Jabbari," said the statement by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said there were "serious concerns with the fairness of the trial and the circumstances surrounding this case."

Kurdish forces in the Syrian town of Kobane thwarted a new attempt by fighters from the Islamic State group Sunday to cut off the border with Turkey before Iraqi Kurdish reinforcements can deploy.

The pre-dawn assault marked the fourth straight day that the jihadists had attacked the Syrian side of the border crossing as the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters prepare to head for Kobane, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Twenty years after Israel signed a historic peace treaty with Jordan, the pact -- deeply unpopular among Jordanians -- is a strategic partnership both sides are determined to protect, experts say.

In the two decades since the October 26, 1994 accord, the frosty relationship has survived numerous tests, mostly from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Syrian rebels fought fierce clashes with loyalist troops Saturday as they tried to secure their supply line to second city Aleppo against advances by the army, a monitor said.

The clashes in the divided area of Handarat just north of Aleppo, came a day after fighting that killed 15 soldiers and pro-regime militia as well as 12 rebels, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Eight Iraqi soldiers were killed in fighting with jihadists south of Baghdad as the army battled to secure the route used by hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims, officers said Saturday.

Pilgrims taking part in Ashura commemorations, which mark the death of Imam Hussein, one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam, are often targeted with bombings during the annual rituals, which take place this month.

Tunisia's prime minister warned Saturday of possible jihadist attacks during a landmark election this weekend, as security was tightened for a vote he said offered hope to the entire region.

"We know that this will be a target (for jihadist groups) because it is unique in the region. It brings hope," Mehdi Jomaa told Agence France-Presse during an inspection of security forces ahead of Sunday's poll.