U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says he is looking forward to learning more about what Saudi Arabia has in mind for the creation of a new 34-nation counterterrorism alliance based in Riyadh.
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Carter was in Turkey Tuesday, saying he’s seeking new ways the U.S.-led coalition can reinforce its fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.
“The first is arming and equipping the Iraqi army and support of Iraq by the global coalition, and the second is the Iraqi-Turkish crisis which took place due to the invasion of the Turkish forces in northern Iraq without the knowledge of the central authorities, as well as the United States efforts to resolve it”, the official explained.
President Barack Obama on Monday said the USA and its allies were hitting IS “harder than ever” and warned the extremists’ leaders: “You are next”.
Details of the plan have not been disclosed, and USA officials haven’t said when they may deploy to Iraq.
The U.S. has sought to step up the tempo of the war against…
On the same day, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke over the phone regarding the fight against ISIL and the latest developments in Iraq after tensions increased between Turkey and Iraq following Turkish troops’ deployment to Iraqi soil over a week ago.
At the start of a meeting with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Carter said the USA wants to help Iraq as it fights against IS in Ramadi and then later in Mosul.
The focus in recent days has been the battle in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar province, which was taken by IS militants.
Speaking at the Pentagon over the weekend Carter pledged stronger coalition impact against ISIS in the coming weeks.
Germany would keep supporting the Kurdish peshmerga in northern Iraq, which she described as “the most effective ground troops” fighting IS.
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Carter said Sunni Gulf Arab countries could encourage and help Sunni Muslim communities living in areas controlled by Islamic State, a hardline Sunni group, to resist their rule.
