Coalition strikes against the Islamic State group are having no impact, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview to be published Thursday, as members of the U.S.-led offensive claimed to be winning the fight.

"You can't end terrorism with aerial strikes. Troops on the ground that know the land and can react are essential," he said in this week's edition of French magazine Paris Match.

The United States and key allies said on Wednesday they were ready to take further steps to protect Libya, expressing "grave concern" at the country's failure to end its civil strife.

In a statement after a meeting in Brussels convened by Secretary of State John Kerry, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the European Union and the United Nations called for an immediate end to hostilities.

The head of Al-Azhar, one of the most prestigious centers of Sunni Islam learning, on Wednesday condemned "barbaric crimes" committed by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Militants are acting "under the guise of this holy religion and have given themselves the name 'Islamic State' in an attempt to export their false Islam," Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb told the opening session of a two-day international conference in Cairo on fighting extremism.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday executed a Syrian convicted of drug smuggling, bringing to 75 the number of locals and foreigners beheaded in the kingdom this year despite international concerns.

The sentence against Ridwan Awad Mohammed Awad was carried out in the city of Qurayyat near the border with Jordan, the interior ministry said.

Tajikistan's prosecutors said Wednesday that nearly 50 young men from banned Islamist groups have been arrested on grounds they were preparing to join jihadists in Syria.

The men, aged between 20 and 30 and allegedly members of banned groups, were accused of "organising a criminal group for participating in armed conflicts or warfare in other countries," a statement by the regional prosecutor's office in northern Sogd region said.

Hizbullah denied on Wednesday reports saying that the party secured the safe release of a member, who was held by a Syrian rebel group, in exchange for a Syrian who was in the custody of the Lebanese authorities.

“The report that was published in An Nahar newspaper on Tuesday is completely false,” Hizbullah's press office said.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam revealed on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry is evaluating the final statement of the first high-level meeting of the 60-member coalition trying to crush the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and in Syria to decide whether Lebanon will enter the alliance or not.

“Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil will evaluate the matter, although Lebanon has limited military capacities to enter such a coalition,” Salam said in comments to An Nahar newspaper at the end of his official visit to Brussels.

How do you turn around a young man who is determined to destroy the West? In the Danish city of Aarhus, you take him to a cafe or a public library and talk about football.

This is the softly-softly approach of Mads, a mentor in an innovative programme to deradicalise young Muslim men who might otherwise turn to violence.

Iran refused to confirm or deny Wednesday if its fighter jets had struck Islamic State group militants in eastern Iraq in recent days as reported by the Pentagon.

"There has been no change to Iran's policy to provide support and advice to Iraqi officials in the fight against Daesh," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

The Syrian regime and several key opponents have agreed to move towards new peace talks mediated by Russia, sources on both sides told Agence France-Presse.

The initial agreement came after separate delegations led by prominent opposition figure Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem visited Moscow in November.