"It was an awful shock to people. They had gathered to remember a local man who was very respected when it all kicked off," said one local.

Drone attack kills four

A suspected US drone strike killed four militants near Pakistan's northwestern border with Afghanistan while three security troops and seven militants were killed in a clash in another tribal region near the border, officials said.

Two missiles fired from the drone targeted a militant hideout in the Shawal area of Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, officials said. They did not elaborate.

Hebdo protest at embassy

Hundreds of Iranians have demonstrated outside the French Embassy in Tehran to protest against the publication of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

Demonstrators, mainly students, chanted "Death to France" alongside the traditional slogans of "Down with USA" and "Death to Israel" at the protest.

Some demanded the Embassy be closed and the ambassador expelled. They also torched US and Israeli flags.

Fighting rages at airport

Pro-Russian separatists renewed attacks on Ukrainian forces at an airport complex in the east after Kiev launched a mass operation to reclaim lost ground there that Russia called a "strategic mistake".

Ukrainian officials said three soldiers had been killed and 66 wounded over the past 24 hours, during which they said they had returned battle lines at the airport to the status quo under a much violated international peace plan.