WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama demanded the world take action against the "cancer" of jihadist extremism in Iraq, as Washington revealed it had failed in an operation to free US hostages in neighboring Syria.

It came on Wednesday, a day after the so-called "Islamic State," which has seized much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq, released a video showing a masked militant beheading US reporter James Foley, provoking worldwide revulsion and condemnation.

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