Dec 29 (Reuters) - Activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, freed from prison in Egypt and now in Britain, apologised on Monday for his "shocking and hurtful" social media posts made more than a decade ago, which have led to calls for his deportation from opposition British politicians.

Abd el-Fattah, 44, became Egypt's most prominent political prisoner after spending much of his adult life in and out of detention due to his activism and was a rare symbol of opposition during a far-reaching crackdown under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday ordered an urgent review into what she said were "serious information failures" in the case of a British-Egyptian activist who was awarded citizenship despite "abhorrent" past social media posts.

Alaa Abdel Fattah earlier Monday apologised over the resurfaced posts in which he called for violence against Zionists and police, as opposition lawmakers urged the UK government to revoke his citizenship.

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - China opposes any attempt to split territories in Somalia, the foreign ministry said on Monday, affirming Chinese support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the East African country.

"No country should encourage or support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a regular press conference, urging authorities in Somaliland to stop "separatist activities and collusion with external forces".

By Umit Bektas

YALOVA, Turkey, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Seven Turkish police officers were wounded in a clash with suspected Islamic State militants in northwest Turkey on Monday and a police operation against them was ongoing, a Reuters witness and state media reported.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard at the scene of the clash in Yalova province, south of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara coast, where police teams launched an overnight operation at a house believed to contain militants, the witness said.

Dec 29 - Syria’s government has ordered soldiers to guard a mass grave created to conceal atrocities under Bashar al-Assad and has opened a criminal investigation, following a Reuters report that revealed a yearslong conspiracy by the fallen dictatorship to hide thousands of bodies on the remote desert site.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes and said Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it fails to disarm in Gaza, as he presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, Trump threatened to "eradicate" any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program or ballistic missile arsenal following US and Israeli strikes earlier this year.

SYDNEY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday an independent review into law enforcement agencies set up after the Bondi mass shooting will assess whether authorities could have taken additional steps to prevent the terror attack.

Albanese said the review will examine whether existing laws or information gaps stopped police and security agencies from acting against the alleged attackers, a father and son, who police say were inspired by the militant group Islamic State.

JERUSALEM/PALM BEACH, Florida, Dec 28 - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to push for progress in the stalled ceasefire in Gaza when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for talks that will include Israel’s concerns over Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran.

Netanyahu said this month that Trump had invited him for talks, as Washington pushes to establish transitional governance and an international security force for the Palestinian enclave.

People gathered in several towns in the breakaway region of Somaliland on Sunday to celebrate its recognition by Israel -- a decision condemned by the Somali president as a "threat" to stability in the Horn of Africa.

Israel announced on Friday it was officially recognising Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally separated from Somalia.

On Sunday, the leader of the Houthis warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a "military target".

By Karam al-Masri

LATAKIA, Syria Dec 28 - Three people were killed on Sunday when protests in Syria's Alawite heartland of Latakia spiralledinto gunfire and other violence, according to the province's media office.

Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Muslim Alawite minority, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government.