Hundreds of supporters of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party marched on Saturday in the town of Sidi Bouzid, a day after police dispersed anti-government protesters using tear gas, an Agence France Presse journalist reported.

Some 250 people marched through the center of the town, birthplace of the uprising that toppled former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali last year, shouting their support for the Ennahda party and for the regional governor Mohamed Nejib Mansouri.

North African and European leaders will set up an immigration task force following the Arab Spring uprisings, which have seen a sharp rise in people making risky boat crossings to seek a new life in Europe.

The decision was announced at a summit in Malta which brought together the leaders of five European countries (France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain) and five Maghreb states (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia).

The Israeli air force shot down an unarmed and unidentified drone on Saturday after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, an army spokesman reported.

"An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace this morning, and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately 10:00 am (08:00 GMT)," a military spokesman said.

Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday appealed for the release of 48 of its citizens held hostage by rebels in Syria and threatened with execution one by one unless Syria's army withdraws from an area in Damascus province.

The statement, relayed by the official news agency IRNA, described the captives as "pilgrims."

The Yemeni army foiled a car bomb attack on the Anad air base used by U.S. soldiers in the southern province of Lahj, a military official told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

"We foiled an attack by a car packed with explosives that managed to breach several security checkpoints leading into the air base," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Syrian President Bashar Assad laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Damascus on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Middle East war, as his troops faced mounting losses at the hands of a domestic uprising.

State television carried pictures of Assad laying the wreath at the monument at Mount Kassioun on the outskirts of the capital.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday appealed for the release of 48 of its citizens held hostage by rebels in Syria and threatened with execution one by one unless Syria's army withdraws from an area in Damascus province.

The statement, relayed by the official news agency IRNA, described the captives as "pilgrims."

Turkey hit back on Saturday against what it said was a fresh round of mortar fire from Syria, as monitors said rebels seized a Syrian border village after a fierce battle that left almost 30 dead.

Syria, for its part, said four Turks were among a convoy of "terrorists" killed in fighting in the heart of Aleppo, just hours after U.N. condemnation of deadly jihadist bombings in the commercial capital.

The head of Syria's main opposition coalition on Friday accused the Damascus regime of trying to spread the unrest in the country to the region, branding the deadly shelling of a Turkish town "a regime plan".

"This incident was a Syrian regime plan," Syrian National Council Chief Abdel Basset Sayda told reporters at a press conference in Istanbul, referring to the Syrian shelling that left five Turks dead in a nearby border town on Wednesday.

Turkey returned fire Friday after a new Syrian shell landed in on its territory close to their common border, NTV private news channel reported.

The Syrian shell landed in the Turkish town of Altinozu in Hatay province near the border, triggering an immediate response fire from Turkish forces, at around 1630 GMT.