More than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and roughly the same number injured in fighting and other violence in Iraq as Sunni militants have swept through the north in June.
Chinese nationals living in Iraq, many working for energy companies such as PetroChina and Sinopec, are under care of Chinese ex-service special forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the United States should try to weaken both Iran and the Sunni Muslim insurgents driving toward Baghdad, urging the Obama administration not to work with Teheran to help stabilize Iraq.
Iran "strongly" opposes any intervention of the United States in its neighboring state of Iraq.
Iraq's Sunni militant groups have seized large part of a key city near the Syrian border after fierce clashes with Iraqi security forces on Saturday in Iraq's western province of Anbar, security sources said.
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint in Lebanon's Eastern Bekaa Valley on Friday.
In a sign of Iran's deepening involvement in the Iraqi crisis, the commander of Teheran's elite Quds Force is helping Iraq's military and Shiite militias gear up to fight the Sunni insurgents advancing across the country, officials said on Monday.
The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate since bloody clashes between insurgent groups and government forces broke out earlier this month.
US, Iran may discuss joint action to halt jihadi group's weeklong offensive
Israeli troops killed a Palestinian youth early on Monday, as a widespread West Bank manhunt for three missing Israeli youths entered its fourth day.
Nations aim to return works to Jewish heirs; owner of Matisse painting found
The suspected kidnapping of three Israeli teens in the West Bank on Thursday and the ensuing manhunt by Israeli security forces have escalated tensions between Israel and the newly-formed Palestinian unity government, but analysts say despite the flimsy allegations leveled against Hamas, it's too early to predict the implications of the incident.