The Arab League is to hold a fresh meeting on Syria on Wednesday, an official said, amid signs of cracks in the resolve of the 22-member bloc to suspend Damascus over its lethal crackdown on protests.

The agenda for Wednesday's meeting includes an assessment of the degree to which Syria had applied its November 2 agreement with the Arab League to end its crackdown on protests.

The Bahraini judiciary on Sunday linked an alleged busted "terrorist" cell to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a day after announcing the arrest of five Bahrainis planning attacks in the Arab kingdom.

The five men are accused of belonging to a "terrorist group" with ties to the intelligence services of a foreign state, a judiciary spokesman said, quoted by state news agency BNA.

Russia will continue exporting arms to Syria since no international decision has been made outlawing it, said a top industry official quoted by the news agency Interfax Sunday.

Speaking at the Dubai Air Show, deputy director of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS) Viacheslav Dzirkaln said: "Since there is no restriction on arms deliveries to Syria, Russia respects its contractual obligations with the country."

France on Sunday condemned protesters' attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria and has summoned the Syrian ambassador, the foreign ministry said.

"These attacks are an attempt to intimidate the international community after the Arab League's courageous decision because of ongoing repression in Syria," a ministry statement said after the pan-Arab body suspended Syria.

Turkey on Sunday summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires to the foreign ministry in Ankara over attacks on its diplomatic missions and called on the international community for a united response to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

"Turkey summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires to the ministry ... and submitted a (diplomatic) note," the ministry said in a written statement.

Damascus on Sunday called for an urgent Arab summit to address the crisis in Syria, a day after the Arab League suspended the country's membership over its failure to implement a plan to end bloodshed.

"Syria demands an emergency Arab summit to address the crisis and its negative consequences in the Arab world," state television SANA reported.

Syrian security forces on Sunday pressed a crackdown on dissent, killing nine people in the central cities of Homs and Hama and the northwestern province of Idlib, rights activists said, adding two soldiers were killed in an ambush.

The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network spurring protests on the ground, reported a higher toll, saying 17 civilians were shot dead, among them nine in Hama.

Twenty people, including 13 Iranian pilgrims, were wounded in bomb attacks in Iraq on Sunday, an interior ministry official said, while insurgents launched rocket and bomb attacks on U.S. forces.

A roadside bomb targeting a bus carrying pilgrims wounded 15 people, among them 13 Iranians, in the Kadhmiyah area of north Baghdad, the official said.

Five activists facing trial in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly insulting top officials began a hunger strike on Sunday to pressure authorities to release them, the wife of one of them said.

"They began a hunger strike to get their voices through to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and not to challenge authorities," said Wedad al-Muhairi, the wife of one of the detainees, Nasser bin Gaith.

Iraq on Sunday slammed the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria as unacceptable while also calling on Damascus to open dialogue with the opposition.

"Suspending Syria's membership in the Arab League came in an unacceptable way," Iraq government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Iraqiya television.