Fifty Tunisian policeman were hurt in clashes with protesters in the marginalized town of Siliana where a general strike degenerated into violence, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

The violence broke out on Wednesday as the town observed a strike to mark the first anniversary of riots that left more than 300 people injured, and as strikes were held in two other regions amid rising social discontent and political deadlock.

Turkey's ambassador to Cairo has returned home after being expelled in a diplomatic spat over Ankara's support for Egypt's ousted Islamist president, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The row erupted at the weekend after Turkish Prime Minister Prime Recep Tayyip Erdogan again criticized the military "coup" in Egypt that ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July.

The Syrian army recaptured the strategic town of Deir Attiyeh Thursday, less than a week after losing it, taking the advantage in its bid to crush rebels just north of Damascus.

The takeover of Deir Attiyeh, on the Damascus-Homs highway, comes two weeks into an army offensive in the Qalamoun region, important to the regime for its proximity to the capital and the rebels as it serves as their rear base near the border with Lebanon.

 Israeli President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that peace with the Palestinians was urgent and possible amid faltering negotiations between the two sides.

Peres, speaking during a visit to Mexico City, said he welcomed the new round of talks, revived in July with the aim of reaching an agreement within nine months.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Saudi king Abdullah late Wednesday to discuss latest developments in the Middle East, a report said, days after world powers struck a nuclear deal with Iran.

The landmark accord, which would curb parts of Iran's nuclear program in return for some relief from international sanctions, has received only a cautious welcome from Riyadh, which fears Tehran's regional ambitions.

The Obama administration is offering to destroy some of Syria's deadliest chemical weapons in international waters aboard a nearly 700-foot (213-meter), U.S. government-owned ship, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

The plan, still subject to final approval, would involve destroying the weapons, likely aboard the MV Cape Ray in the Mediterranean Sea, with U.S. Navy warships patrolling nearby.

The United Nations is to send a 235-strong special force to Libya to protect U.N. staff because of increasing attacks in the country, officials said Wednesday.

The U.N. Security Council has agreed a request by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send the force, China's U.N. ambassador Liu Jieyi said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returns to Israel next week, seeking to ease tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has denounced the nuclear deal with Iran as a "historic mistake."

Kerry will also travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to keep delicate Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations on track, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Syrian President Bashar Assad hailed the "resilience" of Iran in striking a landmark nuclear deal with world powers, according to his Facebook page on Wednesday.

"In a telephone call to President Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Assad reaffirmed the Iranian diplomatic success... leading to the deal with the P5+1 countries."

Angry protesters clashed with police Wednesday and torched an office of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party, as rising discontent and political deadlock prompted people to go on strike in three parts of the country.

In Siliana, southwest of Tunis, hundreds of residents gathered outside the governor's office to remember more than 300 people injured one year ago, when demonstrations exploded into days of running clashes between police and protesters.