A shooting rampage in the heart of a U.S. Navy complex in Washington left at least 12 people dead Monday. One shooter was killed, but police were looking for two other possible gunmen wearing military-style uniforms.

President Barack Obama said he is morning "yet another mass shooting" and called it a "cowardly act."

More than 100 Syrian refugees left Lebanon for Germany on Wednesday under the European country's relocation program for up to 5,000 displaced, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said 107 refugees traveled from Rafik Hariri International Airport with the assistance of the German Embassy.

Syrian rebel fighters announced on Tuesday their withdrawal from the historic Christian town of Maalula near Damascus, two days after they took control of it.

"To ensure no blood is spilled and that the properties of the people of Maalula are kept safe, the Free Syrian Army announces that the town of Maalula will be kept out of the struggle between the FSA and the regime army," a rebel spokesman said in a video posted online.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the United States should renounce the option of using force in Syria to allow checks on Damascus' chemical weapons to go ahead.

"It all makes sense and can work if the U.S. side and all those who support it renounce the use of force," he said according to Russian television.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday revealed that the extremist al-Nusra Front is preparing to storm the mainly Christian Syrian town of Bloudan near Damascus, lashing out at those who are allegedly backing the jihadist group instead of supporting the historic neighboring town of Maalula.

“We were surprised by a cable received by OTV and FPM's website saying '… amid the assault on the town of Maalula, al-Nusra Front is trying to invade the Christian town of Bloudan, and we are raising our voice because we need greater protection.'”

The Gulf Cooperation Council stated on Tuesday that the process of blacklisting Hizbullah as a terrorist organization would take time.

“The process requires time and a procedures linked to a united Gulf stance on the party,” explained Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Mohammed al-Khalifa at the beginning of a GCC council meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied in an interview with CBS television that he was behind a chemical attack last month and called on lawmakers to reject planned U.S. military strikes, the U.S. network said Sunday.

"He denied that he had anything to do with the attack," CBS veteran correspondent Charlie Rose said, speaking after earlier interviewing Assad in Syria.

More than 1,000 Christians held a prayer vigil for peace in Damascus on Saturday, heeding a call from the Vatican, as the U.S. pressed for a military strike on Syria.

Men, women and children thronged Our Lady of Dormition, the Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchal cathedral in the Old City of Damascus, for an emotionally charged plea for peace.

The United States' Secretary of State assured on Saturday that his country is not paving the way to evacuate all its employees from Beirut, ahead of the possible U.S.-led military strike against Syria.

"We did not recall our staff from Beirut,” John Kerry stated at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius in Paris.

Churches in Lebanon held prayers on Saturday night for peace in Syria and against any armed intervention in the country, in a response to Pope Francis' calls.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi led prayers at Our Lady of Lebanon basilica in Harissa, the state-run National News Agency said.