The head of Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, denounced as "hideous" and "hateful" the Friday attacks in Paris that killed more than 128 people, urging the international community to work towards combating terrorism.

"We condemn this hateful incident," the grand imam of Al-Azhar, SheikhAhmed El-Tayyeb, told a conference on combating "extremist thought" in the Egyptian city of Luxor on Saturday.

He slammed the attacks, which French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday were organised by ISIS, as devoid of "any "religion and humanity."

"The time has come for the world to cooperate to confront this frantic monster," El-Tayyeb said.

President Hollande declared a national state of emergency across France on the back of Friday's coordinated shootings and bombings in Paris, while vowing to wage a "merciless" fight against terrorism.

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