Islamic extremists have freed an Australian woman kidnapped last month in northern Burkina Faso, although her husband remains in captivity despite pleas from the family and efforts by officials to secure his release.

A Russian military adviser has been killed in Syria by shelling from the Islamic State group, the Russian defence ministry told Ria Novosti news agency Wednesday.

The US-led coalition of countries combating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria vowed Tuesday to "accelerate and intensify" their fight against the jihadist group, pledging more cash for reconstruction work and broader military action.

German police have arrested two Algerians they suspect of links to the Islamic State group and are hunting for two others in operations in Berlin and other regions, they said Thursday.

Egypt's interior ministry said that the two militants killed on Wednesday in the Cairo suburb of Maadi were planning attacks in response to the earlier killing of an Agnad Masr militant group leader by authorities.

The Misdemeanour Court of Al-Gamaliyya rejected the appeal of TV host Islam El-Beheiry Tuesday after the verdict he received in May 2015 been sentenced to one year in prison on charges of contempt of religion, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.

Egypt's Cassation Court accepted Wednesday the appeal of 149 defendants who had been given the death penalty in what has become known as the "Kerdasa massacre" case.

Giza Security Directorate investigations revealed that the director general of Giza's Endowments Department, who was recently arrested in connection with a fraud case, is wanted in three other cases concerning public funds.

Egyptian authorities have announced that two militants were killed in a firefight with police forces in the Cairo suburb of Maadi on Wednesday, official news agency MENA reported.

The international coalition combating the Islamic State group has not made a decision on whether to intervene militarily in Libya, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in press statements on Tuesday.

The death sentences of 150 defendants accused of attacking a Kerdasa police station in Giza were revoked by the Cassation Court Wednesday, Youm7 reported.

An international coalition is pushing back Islamic State militants in their Syrian and Iraqi strongholds but the group is threatening Libya and could seize the nation's oil wealth, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry left to Rome to participate in a U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group (IS) conference Tuesday, after which he will head to London for the Syria Donors Conference, Youm7 reported.

Egypt is among 23 countries that met Tuesday in Rome to coordinate efforts against the “Islamic State” (IS) militant group in Syria and Iraq, and to stop its territorial advances across Libya.

An Iraqi Kurdish man has been arrested at Athens airport in possession of a passport known to have been among a haul of official documents stolen by Islamic State militants in Iraq, Greek police said Monday. The 37-year-old, who lives in Athens, was detained after flying in from the Turkish city of Istanbul on Sunday, police said in a statement.

Cairo Criminal Court will resume on Tuesday the trial of toppled President Mohamed Morsi and 10 Muslim Brotherhood members on charges of espionage and leaking documents including information on the armed forces and national security to Qatar.

A mother who took her toddler to Syria and joined the Islamic State (ISIS) group was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday after becoming the first British woman to be convicted after returning home.

Three soldiers were injured in an IED blast in west Arish, North Sinai, on Monday. The IED was planted by the perpetrators near the international road of Arish-Qantara Sharq at kilometer 17.

A survivor hidden in a tree says he watched Boko Haram extremists firebomb huts and heard the screams of children burning to death, among 86 people officials say died in the latest attack by Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremists.

Ten people were killed and 20 wounded, most of them civilians in Monday's suicide bomb attack outside a police station in a busy area of western Kabul, Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Ayub Salangi said in a Twitter post.

Russia's air force has carried out 468 sorties in Syria over the past week, hitting more than 1,300 "terrorist" targets, Russian news agencies quoted Russia's Defense Ministry as saying on Monday.