The White House on Wednesday condemned mass kidnappings in Syria and Iraq perpetrated by Islamic State jihadists and vowed to end the group's "depravity."

The United States "strongly condemns" attacks on Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria and the abduction of civilians, National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said.

New Pentagon chief Ashton Carter on Monday vowed "lasting defeat" against the Islamic State group as he summoned top generals and diplomats to Kuwait to review the war effort against the jihadists. 

Only days after taking office, Carter convened the extraordinary meeting of more than two dozen senior military officers, ambassadors and intelligence officials at the sprawling U.S. Army base of Camp Arifjan.

The United States said Tuesday that it will allow for the first time the widespread export of armed drones to some allied countries as part of its global counterterrorism fight.

Armed drones are a cornerstone of Washington's battle against extremists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, although they remain hugely controversial and opponents say they frequently kill or maim civilians.

Japan on Tuesday announced $15.5 million to fight "terrorism" in the Middle East and Africa, as Tokyo tries to demonstrate its resolve despite the murder of two citizens by Islamist extremists.

The amount doubles the $7.5 million in assistance that Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida pledged during a visit to Brussels in January.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday stressed that there is no “justification” for the retention of arms by Hizbullah, as he urged Lebanon's leaders to elect a new president through local efforts.

“Make no mistake: there is no justification for the retention of arms by a militia or terrorist group that answers -- not to the Lebanese people -- but to foreign governments in Damascus and Tehran,” Kerry said in a message commemorating the tenth anniversary of former premier Rafik Hariri's assassination, in an apparent reference to Hizbullah.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that a coup being plotted by military aviation officials had been dismantled and those involved detained.

Like his predecessor Hugo Chavez, Maduro frequently announces supposed coup attempts and blames right-wing forces, as well as the United States and Colombia. 

The U.S. military plans to pull out most troops from West Africa that were deployed to help stem the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the Pentagon said Tuesday, ending a five-month mission.

A force that at one point reached 2,800 has been scaled back to about 1,300 troops and "nearly all will return by April 30," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. 

The United States added German former rapper Denis Cuspert to its list of "terrorists" over his role as a fighter with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the State Department said Monday.

The 39-year-old, who used to rap in Berlin and now goes by the name Abu Talha al-Almani, is one of the most famous Western fighters for IS. He is already listed as an al-Qaida supporter by the United Nations.

The United States is reportedly reconsidering a decision to invite Israel to a conference expected to be held in Washington next week after Lebanon decided to boycott it over claims that it cannot take part in a meeting to confront terrorism with the Jewish state's participation.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Monday, Lebanon's decision created a fuss among European countries that began wondering about the matter, which caused Washington to hesitate in its invitation.

China is opposed to foreign countries receiving the Dalai Lama, a government spokesman said Friday, one day after U.S. President Barack Obama held a symbolic first public encounter with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

"We are against foreign countries interfering in China's domestic affairs under the pretext of Tibet-related issues", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.