Syrian refugees walk towards a crossing point at Greece's border with Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni, September 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

In response to news reports that the Islamic State group is holding a Chinese and a Norwegian hostage and demanding unspecified ransoms for their release, China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it was aware of the reports and was in the process of confirming them. This latest hostage crisis has again raised the alarm about how far the extremist group is willing to go to achieve its ulterior motives.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has confirmed a Norwegian citizen was being held, and insisted that "Norway does not pay ransoms".

This is not the first time that the IS group has taken hostage foreign nationals in the Middle East, and we pray the tragedies of the past will not be repeated this time.

Whatever its religious and political pursuits, the IS group should understand such acts in open defiance of humanity will only further consolidate the resolution of the international community to unite more closely to put an end to its brutalities.

Although China is not among the international coalition led by the United States that is conducting air strikes on an almost daily basis on targets and cells of the extremist group in Syria and Iraq, the country believes what the extremist group has done so far makes it an enemy of all. The nation supports international efforts to curb the group's evil expansion.

The latest hostage taking shows no country can remain unaffected in the war against terror, and greater international cooperation is needed to cut off the funds and manpower supply to the IS and other terrorists groups.

Both the ongoing refugee influx into Europe and the latest hostage crisis are clear evidence that the world needs stronger political will and more concerted efforts to address the scourge in a more effective way.