An oil pipeline near the Saudi capital Riyadh caught fire on Wednesday after an accidental explosion, the civil defense department said.

There were no injuries.

France will begin shipping arms to the Lebanese army in the first quarter of next year, a defense ministry source in Paris said Wednesday, as part of a $3-billion deal financed by Saudi Arabia.

The shipment will consist of combat and transport helicopters, armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles and heavy artillery, the source added.

Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani on Wednesday for trafficking heroin hidden in his stomach into the kingdom, the interior ministry said, the latest in dozens of executions this year.

Mohammed Sadiq Hanif was arrested during his attempt to smuggle "a large amount" of heroin, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

Saudi authorities have blamed militants linked to Al-Qaida for an unprecedented attack that killed Shiite worshipers and highlighted sectarian tensions in the Sunni-dominated kingdom.

Masked gunmen in Saudi Arabia's east late on Monday killed at least six Shiites, including children, during the celebration of Ashura, one of the holiest festivals of their faith.

Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri said King Abdullah was keen on preserving the security and stability of Lebanon, stressing that Riyadh's military aid is aimed at helping the country confront terrorists.

Asiri made his remark as France and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Tuesday for Paris to provide the Lebanese army with $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Riyadh.

Islamic State jihadists subjected a group of teenagers from the Syrian battleground town of Kobane to a string of abuses, including torture, during six months in captivity, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

A group of 153 schoolchildren was taken hostage by IS in May en route to their hometown of Kobane after sitting exams in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to HRW.

Saudi Arabia and France inked on Tuesday in Riyadh a deal to provide the Lebanese army with $3 billion worth of French weapons, with Riyadh footing the bill.

The deal, first announced in December, comes as the Lebanese army is battling gunmen and jihadists, including from the Islamic State group, in the north and along its northeastern border with war-torn Syria.

Masked gunmen killed five Shiite worshipers in Saudi Arabia during a major religious festival, police said Tuesday, in an unprecedented attack highlighting sectarian tensions in the Sunni-dominated kingdom.

Police said six people were detained after the shooting late Monday in Eastern Province, which came as Shiites prepared to mark the peak of Ashura, one of the holiest festivals of their faith.

The Lebanese army will be able to purchase French weapons under a $3 billion deal financed by Riyadh at the beginning of the year after Saudi and French officials ink the contract on Tuesday, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported.

According to the newspaper published on Monday, Saudi and French officials will sign the deal at the Royal Palace in Riyadh after an almost 11-month delay.

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi lashed out on Sunday at Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, considering that he is “clearly linked to the Iranian project in the region.”

“He (Nasrallah) is the main reason behind the growing modern terrorism, the growing sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiites and the one behind terrorism and violence,” Rifi said in comments published in the Saudi newspaper Okaz.