The families of Arsal captives held a sit-in near the Grand Serail on Thursday to protest the state's procrastination regarding the release of their relatives, who were abducted by Islamist gunmen in August.

“We warn of further delay in resolving the case of our sons,” the relatives told reporters gathering in Riyadh al-Solh Square, demanding swift negotiations with jihadists, who are taking positions on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Retired U.S. general John Allen, who is leading the international effort against Islamic State extremists, said Wednesday that the training of Syrian rebels would be a slow process. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed the West on Wednesday to find a longterm solution to the crises in Syria and Iraq, saying dropping "tons of bombs" on Islamic State militants would only provide temporary respite.

Erdogan has pushed for the ousting of President Bashar Assad throughout the Syria crisis to settle the conflict and said that international action had to go well beyond air strikes.

France said Wednesday it will beef up its military deployment in the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq being waged by a U.S.-led coalition.

"The president has decided to reinforce the military presence engaged" in the battle, said a statement from the presidency, without specifying what this would amount to.

Turkish police on Wednesday detained three students at Istanbul University suspected of being sympathizers of the Islamic State (IS) group following clashes at an anti-jihadist campus protest, reports said.

Police stormed the university's faculty of humanities and science in Istanbul's Beyazit district after Islamist students armed with sticks and stones attacked another group protesting against IS.

British prosecutors on Wednesday dropped seven terror charges against former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg relating to the conflict in Syria.

The 45-year-old has been in custody since March awaiting a trial, which was due to start on Monday, but is now expected to walk free following his formal acquittal.

Sitting on a hill just a few kilometers from the clashes between Islamic State insurgents and Kurdish militia, a group of Turkish Kurds have found the ideal vantage point to follow the deadly fighting in the distance.

Like spectators watching a sporting event, some munch on sunflower seeds and search for signs of which side has gained the upper hand in the battle raging across the border in Syria.

At least 41 Syrian children aged under 12 were killed Wednesday in a double bombing by a lone assailant at a school in the government-controlled city of Homs, a monitor said.

They were among 48 people who died in the attacks in the Akrameh neighborhood, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating an earlier toll.

British fighter jets fired on Islamic State (IS) militants west of Baghdad and in northwest Iraq in two rounds of air strikes Wednesday, the defense ministry in London said.

Two Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado warplanes based in Cyprus fired four Brimstone missiles on two IS vehicles, including an armed pick-up truck, the ministry said in a statement.

U.S.-led forces carried out at least five air strikes on Wednesday against Islamic State group fighters attacking the Syrian Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, a monitoring group said.

The strikes hit IS positions south and southeast of the town, known as Kobane by the Kurds, which the jihadists have been battling to take for more than two weeks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.