France said Friday its forces had "destroyed" an al-Qaida convoy in Niger carrying a large amount of weapons from Libya to Mali.

The convoy, belonging to al-Qaida's north African branch, was "intercepted and destroyed (Thursday) night in northern Niger... carrying weapons from Libya to Mali," said a statement from the French presidency.

Algerian soldiers killed four gunmen during anti-militant operations, the defense ministry said Friday, a day after raiding the suspected hideout of jihadists behind the beheading of a French hostage.

Three suspected militants were killed on Friday in the area of Bouria, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Algiers, the ministry said in a statement.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji is expected to tackle next week the aid granted to the Lebanese military with U.S. and Saudi officials, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the daily, Qahwaji will travel to the United States to persuade senior officials to grant the Lebanese army U.S. weapons.

France and Germany on Thursday pressed for urgent reforms to the European Union's visa-free Schengen travel zone to counter the increasing number of Europeans leaving to wage jihad in Iraq and Syria.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve led the impassioned plea to EU counterparts at a meeting in Luxembourg, calling for "a European PNR (Passenger Name Record) ... and a more efficient system of checks at airports.

France said Wednesday it backed a proposal by Ankara to create a safe zone along its border with Syria to ensure Turkey's security and host refugees fleeing Islamic State militants.

In a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Francois Hollande "gave his support to the idea... of creating a buffer zone between Syria and Turkey to host and protect displaced people," the French presidency said in a statement.

Eleven members of the same family from the French city of Nice are believed to have left for Syria, of whom some are suspected of planning to fight alongside jihadists, a judicial source said Wednesday.

The anti-terrorist section of the Paris public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the disappearance of the family, acting on a "stack of evidence" pointing to their departure to Syria, the source said.

Bahrain has rejected claims implicating its Prince Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa in acts of torture after a British court denied him immunity from prosecution over any such allegations.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri is expected to meet with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday in the Italian capital Rome.

Local newspapers published on Wednesday reported that the meeting will tackle the presidential impasse.

Nora was a good high school student who dreamed of becoming a doctor. But when she left to wage jihad in Syria, her family soon discovered she had been leading a double life.

Carlos the Jackal, once one of the world's most-wanted militants, will face a fresh trial for a grenade attack in Paris in 1974 that killed two and injured 34, sources close to the investigation said Tuesday.

The 64-year-old Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, has been held in French jails since 1994 after he was arrested in Sudan and transferred to France following a series of attacks and murders in the country.