The head of al-Mustaqbal Movement ex-premier Saad Hariri reportedly transferred compensations for the residents of the northern neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen who were harmed by the latest bombing in the area.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Saturday, the money was transferred to the Interior Ministry, which will supervise the spending.

In his first prominent speech since telling donors last week he was still interested in the White House, the 2012 Republican nominee hinted and quipped about a possible presidential run next year but stopped well short of any announcement.

With the 2016 election cycle clearly underway and Jeb Bush announcing last month that he is actively exploring a presidential bid, Romney suddenly finds himself under political pressure to signal whether he is ready to mount a third campaign to lead the nation, or yield to a new crop of candidates.

The U.S. military will send more than 400 troops to train Syrian rebel forces as part of a long-planned effort to build up a moderate opposition to take on the Islamist State group, the Pentagon said Friday.

Bahraini authorities arrested suspects who have returned from Syria and are allegedly linked to "terrorist" groups, the interior ministry said Friday. 

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, is among the countries that have joined the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

The jihadist Islamic State group on Friday launched a fierce new attack against Syrian Kurdish fighters in Kobane, four months into a battle for the flashpoint town on Turkey's border, a monitoring group said.

"The IS launched a very fierce attack this morning from the western side of Kobane. In the fighting that ensued, 23 jihadists were killed, as were eight members of the (Kurdish) People's Protection Units (YPG)," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Italian government said Friday it was opposed to paying ransoms to hostage takers but stopped short of explicitly denying money changed hands before the release of two women abducted in Syria.

Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament that suggestions that Italy had paid $12 million (10 million euros) to the Syrian branch of al-Qaida were based on "unfounded rumors" emanating from terrorist organizations which should not be given any credence.

Jihadists have executed 17 men in recent days in areas they control in eastern and northern Syria to avenge a string of assassinations targeting their fighters, a monitor said Friday.

"The Islamic State (IS) group has executed 16 men in Deir Ezzor and one more in Raqa, to send a message to all their opponents after recent assassinations of 12 Syrian, Iraqi and Algerian jihadists," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Rights groups urged Bahrain's Western allies on Friday to pressure the kingdom to drop charges against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, on trial over tweets deemed insulting to public institutions.

Rajab, a member of Bahrain's Shiite majority which has held protests against the Gulf kingdom's Sunni rulers since 2011, was released from custody in November and will stand trial on January 20. 

Scores of German police raided alleged Islamist sites in Berlin early on Friday, arresting two men suspected of being part of a group planning to carry out an attack in Syria, police said.

Around 250 police officers carried out the raids on 11 sites in the German capital, arresting the two men of Turkish origin aged 41 and 43, police said in a statement.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly advised the Lebanese at the end of his mission to Beirut to remain united and preserve Lebanon.

Plumbly, who will be succeeded by the head of the U.N. mission to rid Syria of chemical weapons, Sigrid Kaag, told An Nahar newspaper that his last words to the Lebanese are “to remain united and preserve this precious country.”