The dominant jihadist group in northwest Syria on Sunday blocked access to the site of a suspected U.S.-led operation against Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an AFP correspondent reported.

Hundreds of protesters hunkered down in the Iraqi capital's Tahrir Square on Sunday, defying another night of tear gas and shuttered roads as they pledged to "weed out" the political class.

Jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world's most wanted man, was believed Sunday to have been killed in a U.S. special operation in northwest Syria.

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas to clear lingering protesters in Baghdad on Saturday morning, after dozens died in a bloody resumption of anti-government rallies to be discussed in parliament.

After abruptly pulling US troops who protected Kurdish fighters, President Donald Trump has identified protecting oil as the new goal in Syria. But experts question if the new strategy is realistic, or even legal.

Iraqi police fired live shots into the air as well as rubber bullets and dozens of tear gas canisters Friday to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters, sending young demonstrators running for cover and enveloping a main bridge in the capital Baghdad with thick white smoke. Twenty-three protesters were killed and dozens were injured, security officials said.

Thousands of protesters massed near the high-security Green Zone in Iraq's capital on Friday in a resumption of anti-government demonstrations that left more than 150 people dead earlier this month. 

Some 300 Russian military police have arrived in Syria to patrol the flashpoint Syrian-Turkish frontier, the defence ministry said on Friday.

The Naharayim park was established 25 years ago as a symbol of the landmark peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. Now, as the two countries mark a quarter century of official relations, the park and its "Island of Peace" are being shuttered.

It is a fitting reflection of the Israeli-Jordanian relationship — one that began with great promise, but which has been plagued by mistrust, disappointment and missed opportunities. While the peace agreement remains intact, there is a sense on both sides that it should have delivered much bigger dividends.

Turkish forces and their allies attacked Syrian government troops in northeastern Syria on Thursday, killing some of them, and they also clashed with Kurdish-led fighters, the state news agency in Damascus and a war monitoring group said.

The fighting underscored the risks of violence as multiple and often opposing armed forces jostle for new positions in the tight quarters of the northeastern border zone.