Updated 8:45 p.m. Moscow Time
UNITED NATIONS, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - The global community should bring together full international efforts to stand in the face of al-Qaeda-linked militant groups as their terrorist actions will not be limited within the borders of Syria and Iraq, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said Monday.
"We believe that priority should be given to work on the concerted efforts of the international community to combat the terrorism of the ISIS and Al-Nusra Front, and other al-Qaeda affiliates, and drain its resources in order for security and stability will prevail in our region and the world," Moualem said addressing a plenary session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Moualem also said that continuing terrorist attacks "increased the humanitarian needs in many of the basic areas," and forced a significant number of Syrians to flee their homes.
Anti-government protests that erupted in Syria in March 2011 triggered a civil war that, according to UN estimates has claimed the lives of about 200,000 people.
Since 2012, Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting against the Syrian government. In June 2014, the IS launched an offensive in northern and western Iraq and declared the establishment of a caliphate on the territories under its control.
A US-led international coalition is currently carrying out airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria.
Last week, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized that the coalition against IS militants must establish coordination with Syrian authorities and work together as a team.
