Al-Qaida's North Africa arm has claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on a gas plant in the Sahara jointly operated by Britain's BP and Norway's Statoil, calling it a protest over shale gas extraction.

No one was injured in the attack Friday and Algerian troops fanned out to hunt the perpetrators. The Defense Ministry said two homemade rocket shells fell near the Krechba production site near In Salah, which is overseen by Algerian state company Sonatrach.

At least 19 pilgrims died, all of them Egyptian, and 22 were injured early on Saturday when their bus overturned in western Saudi Arabia, authorities in both countries said.

The tourism ministry in Cairo said 19 Egyptian pilgrims and a child were killed and 15 were injured in the accident.

Scans of King Tut's burial chamber have revealed two hidden rooms, Egypt's antiquities minister said Thursday — a discovery that could intensify speculation that the chambers contain the remains of the famed Queen Nefertiti.

Mamdouh el-Damaty told reporters that the secret chambers may contain metal or organic material, but he declined to comment on whether royal treasure or mummies could be inside. Analysis of the scans made by a Japanese team showed chambers that would be scanned again at the end of the month to get a better idea of what may lay inside, he said.

An Iraqi military spokesman says a reconnaissance and combat plane has crashed while on a mission over an Islamic State-controlled area in the country's north.

The spokesman for the Joint Military Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Cessna 208 Caravan single-engine turboprop crashed on Wednesday while hovering near the town of Hawija, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad.

Meir Dagan, a former Israeli general and longtime director of its spy agency, has died. He was 71.

Dagan directed the Mossad from 2002 to 2011. Under his leadership, the Mossad reportedly carried out covert attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists and unleashed cyber-attacks, including the Stuxnet virus that delayed the Iranian nuclear program.

Manchester City's players trudged off the field. Many fans left early. The final whistle was greeted with only a smattering of cheers.

It was hardly the way the English club envisaged marking progress to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

Atletico Madrid beat PSV Eindhoven 8-7 in a penalty shootout on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the third straight season.

Juanfran scored the decisive penalty for Atletico after Luciano Narsingh struck the crossbar in the previous attempt.

This weekend's Formula One season-opening grand prix in Australia should, in theory, be an unpredictable affair.

Along with the standard first-race technical glitches with new components, the usual churn of rule changes, and drivers becoming reacquainted with racing, this year will also add a new qualifying system and reduced aid to drivers from the pit wall.

The Asian Football Confederation has ruled that matches between clubs from Saudi Arabia and Iran must be played at neutral venues.

The AFC's competition committee had given both football federations until March 15 to resolve an impasse created by Saudi government restrictions prohibiting any nationals traveling to Iran. It agreed to delay matches between Saudi and Iranian clubs until later in the Asian Champions League.

Russia's defense ministry says another group of its aircraft has left the Russian air base in Syria and is returning home.

Wednesday's announcement comes two days after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian military to withdraw most of its fighting forces from Syria, signaling an end to Russia's five-and-a-half month air campaign.