Protests and a general strike swept Tunisia Friday after gunmen killed an opposition head with "the same gun" used to kill a colleague, as under-fire authorities pointed to al-Qaida links.

Mohammed Brahmi was gunned down with the same weapon used to kill another opposition politician, Chokri Belaid, six months earlier, Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou said.

A Franco-American photographer who had been detained in Syria since April has been freed and arrived safely in Paris this week, the French foreign ministry said.

Jonathan Alpeyrie, who works for the New York-based Polaris Images photo agency and has traveled to several conflict zones in the past, flew into the French capital on Wednesday.

Five people were killed in clashes Friday between supporters of Egypt's military and deposed president Mohammed Morsi's loyalists in Alexandria, state media reported.

Police have intervened to break up the clashes in the Mediterranean city, in which at least 72 people were injured, many with gunshot wounds, the reports said.

Tunisia faced a general strike Friday after gunmen shot dead a leading opposition figure in a killing that brought thousands of protesters onto the streets and sparked international condemnation.

Tunisia's national airline Tunisair cancelled all flights Friday.

Syrian opposition leaders on Thursday pressed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to arm rebel groups and said there could be no peace talks while government forces kill civilians.

Kerry held his first meeting with Syrian National Coalition president Ahmad Jarba at the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on the Egyptian military to free overthrown president Mohammed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders, a spokesman said.

Ban demanded that Morsi and his high-level backers "be released or have their cases reviewed transparently without delay," said deputy U.N. spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

Bombs exploded near shops and cafes in Iraq on Thursday night, killing at least 17 people and wounding at least 25, officials said.

The blasts struck after the iftar meal that breaks the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at a time when many people go shopping or relax in cafes.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to have flubbed his lines on Thursday when he referred to the Palestinian territories as a country.

Speaking at the United Nations ahead of talks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Kerry praised the "courageous decision" by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to resume direct negotiations.

The United States on Thursday condemned the assassination of a leading critic of Tunisia's ruling Islamists, saying violence had no place in the country's transition to democracy.

Tunisian MP Mohammed Brahmi was shot dead outside his home Thursday in the second such slaying this year, with fingers again pointed at the authorities.

President Barack Obama will welcome his Yemeni counterpart for talks next week that could touch on the fate of dozens of Yemenis held at Guantanamo, the White House said Thursday.

The August 1 meeting with President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi aims to "further strengthen our counter-terrorism partnership, and enable the return of Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay who have been designated for transfer," the White House said.