France will host an international meeting Thursday on the future of Mosul, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on the second day of a major offensive to retake Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group.

Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have agreed to military talks with the United States and Russia on efforts to distance Syrian opposition fighters from the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front, Russia's ambassador said Monday.

The Russian and Syrian air forces have stopped bombing Aleppo as of 0700 GMT on Tuesday, Russia's defense minister said, in a move meant to ensure an eight-hour truce on October 20. 

Iraqi forces are "ahead of schedule" in an offensive aimed at retaking Mosul and dealing a death blow to the Islamic State group, but the battle will be difficult and protracted, the Pentagon has said.

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire that could be extended, the war-torn country's foreign minister said Monday, a day after international calls for a truce.

Iraqi security forces were "ahead of schedule" after the first day of an offensive for the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, a Pentagon official said Monday.

A U.S.-led coalition has for months been helping train Iraqi forces for the fight for Mosul -- the last IS stronghold in Iraq -- and the military offensive finally got underway early Monday.

The United Nations on Monday welcomed an eight-hour ceasefire in Aleppo announced by Russia as a needed respite for Syrian civilians, but said it was not enough to deliver humanitarian aid.

"We would welcome any pause in the fighting, but there is a need for a longer pause in order to get the aid in," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Russia's announcement of an eight-hour ceasefire in Aleppo is "positive" but may not be long enough to allow humanitarian aid to reach the besieged Syrian city, EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said Monday. 

Courts in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip handed down three death sentences on Monday, including one for spying for Israel and two others for murder, authorities said.

Kuwait will hold snap elections on November 26, the government said Monday a day after the oil-rich Gulf state ruler dissolved parliament following a dispute over hiking petrol prices.