When Malaysia's urbane Prime Minister Najib Razak travels abroad he invariably touts his country's widely accepted reputation for moderate Islam, but that image is taking a beating at home.

Increasingly strident Islamist pressure, often initiated by Najib's own government, is causing deepening dismay in the traditionally tolerant multi-faith country.

Work on destroying Syria's last remaining chemical weapons production facilities will begin this month and should be completed next year, the U.N. Security Council heard Wednesday.

Dutch diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who leads a U.N. mission to rid Syria of chemical weapons, told the council that 13 production facilities will be dismantled, Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan said.

Shelling of a rebel-held area in the northeast of the Syrian capital killed 13 children Wednesday, a monitor said revising an earlier toll, with activists saying a school had been hit.

"The number of children... killed by mortar fire on areas of Qabun district has risen to 13," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding: "The toll might rise because several others were critically injured."

The Syrian army on Wednesday recaptured two key gas fields and a gas company in central Homs province, less than a week after their seizure by jihadists, a monitoring group said.

"Regime forces and pro-regime militia retook control of the Jhar and Mahr gas fields, as well as the Hayyan gas company in the east of Homs province," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

After the election drubbing suffered by his Democrats, President Barack Obama will face a Republican-controlled Congress critical of his foreign policy -- and which could rebel against any eventual Iran nuclear accord.

Aside from the war against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, Tehran's nuclear program is undoubtedly the top foreign policy issue before Congress, with negotiations between the Islamic republic and world powers coming down to a November 24 deadline.

When Islamic State militants retreated from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher last week, the Iraqi military was quick to flaunt a rare victory against the extremist group, with state television showing tanks and Humvees parading through the town and soldiers touring government buildings that had been occupied by the militants since August.

However, photos soon emerged on independent Iraqi news websites revealing a more discrete presence — the powerful Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani — whose name has become synonymous with the handful of victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces. Local commanders said Hizbullah was also on the front lines.

The emir of the al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, announced that the battle with Hizbullah in Lebanon didn't begin yet, vowing surprises along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

“Our brothers in al-Qalamoun region have many surprises... The real battle in Lebanon didn't start yet,” al-Joulani said in an audio message distributed online on Tuesday night.

Israel's Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has warned that Israel would return Lebanon to the stone age if Hizbullah attacked the Jewish State.

“In order to avoid any doubt on the matter, (Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah the cowardly braggart should know this: that option does not exist for us!,” Katz wrote on his facebook page, according to Israeli media.

Britain is preparing to send troops to Iraq to help train local forces to fight Islamic State militants, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The British Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report but said an announcement would be forthcoming.

New Zealand will not send combat troops to battle the Islamic State (IS) group but is prepared to help boost the Iraqi military's capacity to fight the jihadists, Prime Minister John Key said Wednesday.

Key unveiled a range of policies aimed at countering the threat from IS both at home and abroad, including boosting domestic intelligence agencies to guard against a Canada-style attack.