CAIRO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The international community on Monday unanimously condemned the latest beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya by Islamic State (IS) militants, and called for strong global actions against terrorism.

The IS group in Libya released a video on Sunday purportedly showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who were abducted in the central Libyan city of Sirte. The killing has been widely denounced across the Middle East region and beyond.

The lower parliament of Jordan said such "criminal and terrorist acts" are not related to Islam, as terrorism has no religion. It called for intensified efforts to combat terrorism at both regional and international levels.

Jordan has escalated its bombardment against IS targets after one of its fighter jet pilots was captured by the IS in late January and then burnt alive about two weeks ago.

The United Arab Emirates on Monday condemned the IS killing and offered condolences to the Egyptian nation and government, while asserting that it will put all its potentials forward to support Egypt to eradicate terror and violence.

Iran said the IS action provoked sectarian, ethnic and tribal sentiments and harm "the relations among the followers of divine religions and ties between Muslim countries." It also urged for vigilance by countries in the region against plots and conspiracies to spread extremism and terrorism in the Middle East.

Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic Hamas movement condemned the slaughtering of the 21 Egyptian Christians.

"It's an awful crime which shows this terrorist group doesn't differentiate between Islam and Christianity and damage the image of Islam, the religion of forgiveness," Abbas said.

The Palestinian National Authority has declared a three-day period of grief to express sadness for the Egyptian victims.

Hamas, meanwhile, said "This shameful action damages the image of Islam, violates its principles of forgiveness and destroys the ties between human beings."

Also on Monday, while denouncing the IS' "heinous acts" and offering condolences to the Egyptian government, world powers also urged for a global action against extremism.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry after the IS released the video to offer his condolences for the abductees.

Washington is hosting a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on Tuesday to discuss international and U.S. efforts to fight terrorist organizations.

France and Egypt on Monday called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Libya's security situation and urged adequate measures to halt the ongoing IS offensive.

French President Francois Hollande also voiced his country's backing for an international move at the United Nations and the Security Council, as well as within the framework of the European Union, to take a strong action to eradicate terrorism.

Egypt has launched two waves of retaliating air strikes against IS militants in Libya as of Monday afternoon, killing at least 40 suspected IS militants there, state-run Nile TV reported. Enditem