The head of the Islamic State group in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region has been killed in a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan, intelligence officials and militant commanders said Saturday.

The National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan spy agency, said Hafiz Saeed was among 30 IS-linked cadres killed in the strike in restive Nangarhar province, close to the Pakistani border, on Friday.

Dozens of Russian soldiers are facing trial for fleeing their unit, fearing deployment to Ukraine, a news site and a lawyer for five of the men said on Saturday.

The popular Gazeta.ru website said several dozen soldiers would be prosecuted after fleeing a training ground in southern Russia where they were under pressure to "volunteer" to fight in Ukraine.

Families of those killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine last year demanded justice Saturday at an emotional memorial ceremony ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.

The sombre memorial service at Kuala Lumpur International Airport was attended by Prime Minister Najib Razak, and relatives of those who died used the opportunity to air their continued frustrations over the handling of the tragedy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned the Islamic State group is reaching into Afghanistan, as he hosted a regional security summit drawing to a close.

"We noted the growing activities of the IS group militants who have extended their tentacles into this country," Putin said at a press conference after a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Russian city of Ufa.

President Petro Poroshenko warned Friday that the threat of terror was "significantly" rising across Ukraine as pro-Russian militias resumed attacks that killed two more federal servicemen.

The Western-backed leader said Ukraine's efforts to stamp out the 15-month eastern revolt had drained security resources and left peaceful cities open to attacks from criminals and those allied to rebel fighters.

The United States on Thursday asked the U.N. Security Council to set up an investigative panel to identify those behind deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria.

The panel comprised of experts from the United Nations and the OPCW chemical watchdog could be able to establish whether President Bashar al-Assad's forces are carrying out the attacks, as western countries claim.

Russia now poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security and its behavior is "nothing short of alarming," Marine General Joseph Dunford, the man nominated to be the U.S. military's top officer, said Thursday.

Dunford -- who is currently the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps -- told senators at his confirmation hearing that the Pentagon nevertheless needed to maintain some kind of military-to-military relationship with Moscow.

Russia said Thursday it will oppose a draft U.N. resolution circulated by Malaysia on establishing an international tribunal to prosecute those behind the downing of Flight MH17 over Ukraine.

Deputy U.N. Ambassador Petr Iliichev confirmed Moscow's opposition to the plan, saying: "It's not a good time and it's counterproductive."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that major world powers would not be "rushed" into a nuclear deal with Iran, adding he was prepared to walk away if "tough decisions" are not made soon.

Speaking on the eve of a deadline to present a deal to the U.S. Congress, Kerry told reporters that because "the stakes are very, very high, we will not rush and we will not be rushed."

Malaysia on Wednesday circulated a draft U.N. resolution on establishing an international tribunal that it said would guarantee an independent trial for those behind the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine.

Malaysia told the Security Council last week that it was ready to move ahead with the proposed tribunal despite resistance from Russia, which has said the move is premature.