A powerful blast from explosives planted in a tunnel under the Old City of Aleppo, in northern Syria, killed or wounded 20 government troops Tuesday, a monitor said.

Jabha Shamiyeh, a new rebel coalition in Aleppo, was behind the blast, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which was not immediately able to give a breakdown of the dead and wounded.

Sheikh Wissam al-Masri announced Tuesday after a brief visit to Islamic State militants in Arsal's outskirts that the group is demanding a border “buffer zone” to “protect” Syrian refugees in the area as well as a “hospital” for treating the wounded and the release of women prisoners from Lebanese jails.

“I met with the Islamic State officials in charge of the file of captives,” Masri said at the Riad al-Solh Square after meeting the families of the Lebanese servicemen held by the IS and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.

Tens of terrorists have been reportedly killed and wounded when trying to infiltrate into Hizbullah positions in Assal al-Ward of Syria's Qalamun region near Lebanon's border.

According to Ad Diyar newspaper published on Tuesday, Hizbullah and the Syrian army ambushed the terrorist groups inflicting heavy casualties in their ranks.

Head of the Kataeb party Amin Gemayel is expected to pay Saudi Arabia a visit upon the invitation of deputy Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, media reports reported on Saturday.

Gemayel received a phone call from the Crown Prince who congratulated him on the holidays and invited him to visit the kingdom.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun have resolved their dispute over the oil file, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Saturday.

It said that the two sides agreed to issue contracts over the oil fields adjacent to the Israeli blocks after the speaker had warned that the neighboring state could exploit Lebanon's offshore wealth.

Iran's visiting Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Monday that Hizbullah is an active movement and plays a positive role in the region.

“Some movements are more effective than states. Hizbullah is an example. It plays a positive role in the region,” he said.

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday asking Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by an Israeli air force attack on oil storage tanks during its war with Hizbullah in July 2006.

The assembly voted 170-6 in favor of the resolution, with three abstentions. Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, Micronesia and Marshall Islands voted "no."

Moody's Investors Service downgraded on Tuesday Lebanon's government bond ratings to B2 from B1 and maintained the negative outlook.

The key drivers of the rating action according to Moody's are the rise in the main government debt metrics, the harmful repercussions of the spillover from the Syrian crisis on government finances, economic growth and political stability.

The Lebanese army foiled an infiltration attempt overnight when some gunmen tried to infiltrate the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and Wadi Rafek near of al-Qaa, the state-run National News Agency reported on Monday.

Lebanese troops engaged in heavy armed clashes with the infiltrators, NNA added.

Miss South Africa, 22-year-old Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 at the pageant's final in London on Sunday, with an estimated billion viewers watching on television around the globe.

Miss Hungary, Edina Kulcsar, was the runner-up and Miss United States, Elizabeth Safrit, came third in the 64th annual competition, contested by women from 121 countries.