Egypt on Saturday condemned the beheading of a British citizen by Islamic State militants fighting in Syria and Iraq as a "barbaric, savage" incident.

Henning, a taxi driver who had been in Syria delivering aid before he was kidnapped, was the latest in a series of Western hostages murdered by the extremist group.

A statement by Egypt's foreign ministry strongly condemned the execution, shown in a video released by IS on Friday, and expressed "full dismay" at the "horrible and criminal murder" of British citizen Alan Henning.

The ministry re-emphasised the need  for "concerted and combined efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism as a global phenomenon aimed at stability, security and the development across the world."