Cameron convenes cabinet to prepare for debate on IS threat

British Prime Minister David Cameron will convene his cabinet Thursday after an early return from a UN meet in New York to prepare for a debate in parliament over threat from the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group, a media report said.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Cameron described as "medieval" the cruelty of the IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

"The conflict in Iraq and Syria is shocking the world with its barbarity," The Guardian quoted him as saying. He added: "The cruelty being meted out -- beheadings, eyes being gouged out, rape -- is horrific. It is literally medieval in character."

The British parliament will Friday debate on airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq, Downing Street announced Wednesday.

The prime minister has the support of the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats to join the coalition airstrikes as soon as this weekend.

The House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, will debate on "a substantive motion" on Britain's response to the request from the Iraqi government for airstrikes to support operations against the IS in Iraq, a spokesperson said.

Cameron Thursday also supported a UN resolution imposing travel bans on foreign fighters planning to join overseas conflicts, adding that 500 people from Britain had travelled to fight in Iraq and Syria.

He expressed confidence that he would not suffer a repeat of last year's humiliating Commons defeat when he failed to win support for airstrikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Britain is already offering military support, including supplying arms to the Kurds and providing surveillance operations by a squadron of Tornadoes and other Royal Air Force aircraft, Downing Street said.