UPDATE 1-Facebook says removed multiple accounts from UAE, Nigeria, Egypt and Indonesia

Facebook Inc has removed several pages, groups and accounts on its platforms from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Nigeria and Indonesia, citing "coordinated inauthentic behavior".

A total of 280 Facebook accounts, 149 pages and 43 groups, and 121 Instagram accounts were removed, the social media platform said https://bit.ly/2LJypCf on Thursday. Facebook, which owns one-time rivals Instagram and WhatsApp, said the accounts were engaged in spreading content on topics like UAE's activity in Yemen, the Iran nuclear deal and the criticism of Qatar, Turkey and Iran.

The social media giant has recently been cracking down on such accounts after coming under fire in the last few years for its self-admitted sluggishness in developing tools to combat extremist content and propaganda operations. Earlier this year, it removed accounts from Iraq, Ukraine, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Thailand, Honduras and Israel.

Facebook is making attempts to prevent online abuses and spread of misinformation, including in political election campaigns.