"The real revolution in Syria is over, we have been betrayed," laments a bitter Abu Mahmoud, a respected rebel leader, accusing fellow commanders of marring a "beautiful" revolt through corruption.

"Our beautiful revolution has been confiscated by thieves and corruptors," Abu Mahmoud tells Agence France Presse as he struggles to hide his bitterness at the way the revolt against President Bashar Assad's regime is being fought these days.

Baghdad said Tuesday it has authorized the justice minister to sign a prisoner swap deal with Britain that could see a British security guard convicted of murder in Iraq head home to serve the rest of his life sentence.

Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari and British officials have been discussing the deal, which would allow the transfer of convicts between the two countries, since at least January.

Iran on Tuesday scorned as a "laughing matter" comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tehran is moving closer to making a nuclear bomb.

"The claim of the Zionist regime, is a laughing matter," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly news conference.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that a powerful blast in a minibus on the Syrian border which killed 14 people was a bomb attack.

"A vehicle loaded with bombs was able to reach our customs gate because the customs gate on the Syrian side is not working and is not being controlled," Erdogan told parliament after Monday's incident.

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its nationals on Tuesday in the southwestern Aseer region after he was convicted of murdering a fellow citizen, the interior ministry announced.

Mohammed al-Qahtani shot dead Mueed al-Qahtani during a fight between the two, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

A series of attacks mostly targeting security forces, including a suicide car bomb at an army base, killed 11 people, officials said Tuesday, updating a previous toll.

In the deadliest of Monday's incidents, a vehicle packed with explosives was detonated by a suicide attacker in the main northern city of Mosul, killing six soldiers and wounding seven others, according to security and medical officials.

Rebels on Tuesday overran a military air base, a watchdog said, a day after seizing control of Syria's largest dam as they pushed an assault on strategic targets in the north of the country.

The military advance came as prospects for a political solution to Syria's civil war faded and as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged President Bashar Assad's regime to accept an offer of dialogue by an opposition leader.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad to accept an offer by the head of the opposition coalition for peace talks.

The offer by National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib to talk with "is an opportunity we should not miss -- a chance to switch from a devastating military logic to a promising political approach," Ban said in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The United States welcomed Monday a new round of talks by Bahrain's key political players aimed at trying to resolve the kingdom's two-year crisis.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was "encouraged by the broad participation of Bahraini political groups in the dialogue."

Secretary of State John Kerry is working to try to free up almost $700 million in aid for the Palestinians which has been held up in Congress, a top U.S. official said Monday.

"The secretary feels extremely strongly that it is time now to get this support to the Palestinian Authority," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.