Islamic State claims it has executed one Chinese and one Norwegian hostage.

Fan Jinghui - who was kidnapped in September - is the first person from his country to be killed by the terror group.

China has promised to "bring to justice" those responsible.

In a statement, the country's foreign ministry said they had been attempting to secure the hostage's release following his kidnapping. 

"However, with no regard for human conscience and moral baseline, the terrorist organisation still carried out this cold-blooded and violent action," the statement added.

Meanwhile Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a news conference that hostage Ole-Johan Grimsgaard-Ofstad had most likely been killed, but authorities were still seeking to verify the claims.

The prime minister condemned the apparent killings.

An issue of Islamic State's propaganda magazine Dabiq appeared to show the bodies of the two hostages.

The magazine also published a photo which the militant group claims shows the improvised bomb that brought down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.

It shows a soft drink can and what appears to be a detonator and switch on a blue background.

The Metrojet plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board.