An al-Qaida-linked Saudi suspect detained in Lebanon is being held in a military hospital because "he is in poor health", a medical official told Agence France Presse Friday.

Another official familiar with the investigation said the interrogation of Majed al-Majed "has been delayed because he is in poor health," and that the suspect is being "heavily guarded" at the Baabda military hospital near Beirut.

Israel and the United States carried out a joint missile test Friday, the defense ministry said, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushed for a Middle East peace deal.

The Israel Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency completed a "successful" launch of the Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile system over the Mediterranean, an Israeli defense ministry statement said.

Israeli former prime minister Ariel Sharon's health was in "slow, gradual" decline on Friday, according to the hospital where he has been in a comatose state for eight years.

"Tests show a slow, gradual deterioration in the functioning of his vital organs ... His state has not changed. He's still in critical condition, and his life is in danger," Tel Hashomer hospital director Zeev Rotstein was quoted by public radio as saying.

The Lebanese Army denied on Friday media reports concerning the circumstances that surrounded the arrest of a “terrorist,” stressing that investigation are ongoing in a “disclosed manner.”

“Secret investigations are ongoing and we are not responsible for any information published regarding the matter,” the army said in a communique.

Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Friday there were no plans to grant pardons for jailed army officers convicted of plotting to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

The remarks by Bulent Arinc came a day after it was revealed that Turkey's military had demanded a retrial for convicted officers, accusing the police and the judiciary of fabricating evidence in two separate cases.

More than 100 people were killed Friday as Iraqi police and tribesmen battled al-Qaida-linked militants who took over parts of two Anbar provincial cities, announcing one an Islamic state.

Parts of Ramadi and Fallujah, west of Baghdad, have been held by militants for days, harkening back to the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion when both cities were insurgent strongholds.

DNA testing on Friday confirmed that a deadly bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs was carried out by an anti-Assad suicide bomber who hailed from the northern district of Akkar.

Wadi Khaled resident Qutaiba Mohammed al-Satem has been confirmed to be the suicide bomber who blew himself up in Haret Hreik, according to DNA testing, state-run National News Agency reported.

The U.S. embassy in South Sudan ordered a further pullout of staff Friday and organised an new evacuation flight due to the worsening conflict in the young nation, urging all citizens to leave.

"The Department of State ordered a further drawdown of U.S. embassy personnel from Juba because of the deteriorating security situation," the embassy said in a statement.

Bahrain accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards Friday of providing opposition militants with explosives training in order to carry out attacks in the Gulf kingdom, announcing that it had arrested five suspects.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni Muslim dynasty but has a population that is majority Shiite. The government crushed a mostly Shiite-led uprising in 2011 and has long accused predominantly Shiite Iran of meddling in its affairs.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry launched a second day of talks with Israelis and Palestinians Friday, seeking to hammer out a framework to guide negotiations towards a peace deal.

American officials have privately said they believe the direct talks resumed in July after a three-year hiatus have reached a new phase, as an April deadline for an accord looms, but are struggling to overcome fierce opposition from both sides to any compromises.