Former Syrian prime minister turned key opposition leader Riad Hijab has told AFP in an interview the forces fighting the regime need "actions, not words" from countries that support them.

He said the opposition urgently required surface-to-air missiles to counter the air strikes carried out by the regime and their Russian allies.

Islamic State group jihadists, including two suicide bombers, killed four Libyan soldiers and wounded 24 in their latest foray into territory controlled by the U.N.-backed government, the army said Thursday.

Wednesday evening's attack on a highway checkpoint in the desert interior comes after the jihadists thrust west along the Mediterranean coast from their stronghold of Sirte last week, overrunning a major crossroads.

An attack on a police station claimed by the Islamic State group killed five people near Baghdad on Thursday, a day after triple car bombings in the capital killed more than 90.

The assault on the police station in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, which security officials said involved two suicide bombers as well as other attackers, also wounded 14 people.

Turkey is preparing to "clean" the Syrian side of the border of Islamic State jihadists after a Turkish border town came under repeated deadly rocket attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

"We are doing all the necessary preparations to clean the other side of the border because of the problems in Kilis," Erdogan said amid persistent speculation of a possible Turkish cross-border ground operation, without giving details on the preparations.

The Islamic State group has released a video showing five alleged "spies" being shot dead in Iraq by young men from a crowd assembled for the execution.

The 12-minute video released on social media on Wednesday mimics a participatory television show, in which members of the public are interviewed and invited to take part.

Yemen's government and Iran-backed rebels have discussed the crucial issues of military withdrawals, the handover of weapons and the restoration of state institutions during peace talks, the U.N. said Thursday.

Negotiators on Wednesday also debated the logistical details of a release of prisoners and detainees announced a day earlier, U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.

Militants, including suicide bombers, killed at least 15 Yemeni troops outside the southeastern port city of Mukalla on Thursday, the army said, in attacks claimed by jihadists.

An army official spoke of three suicide bombings and held Al-Qaida responsible, but the rival Islamic State (IS) jihadist group said one of its militants was "martyred".

Iran said Thursday its nationals will miss the annual hajj, accusing Saudi Arabia of sabotaging arrangements following a major diplomatic row and a deadly stampede at last year's pilgrimage.

A delegation from Tehran held four days of talks in Saudi Arabia last month aimed at thrashing out a deal for Iranians to go to Mecca in September.

A Russian soldier has died in Syria after coming under fire from rebels in Homs province, a representative of Russia's Hmeimim air base told Russian news agencies on Wednesday.

Journalists should not be treated as enemies of the state but rather as allies in fighting terrorism, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday, in remarks seen as a swipe at Egypt.

Ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council that counter-terrorism measures "should never be used as an excuse to suppress political dissent" and that jailing journalists was "counter-productive."