US vows to ramp up fight against IS

Washington, March 22

Vowing to increase pressure on the Islamic State, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death is imminent as US-backed forces close in on jihadists in Syria and Iraq. 

“Nearly all of Baghdadi’s deputies are now dead, including the mastermind behind the attacks in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere. It is only a matter of time before Baghdadi himself meets this same fate,” Tillerson promised, as he opened discussions among delegates from 68 countries gathered in Washington to discuss the anti-IS strategy in Iraq and Syria.

“The great commonality among we who have gathered today is a commitment to bringing down a global force of evil and I emphasise the word commitment,” Tillerson said, adding, “The success of our mission depends on a continued devotion to our stated objective of defeating this terrorist organization.”

The US Secretary of State called on coalition partners to allocate more military, financial resources toward defeating the terror group. He said the United States will also work to establish interim zones of stability to allow refugees to return home. 

Although it was unclear where the zones would be set up and how these would work, creating any safe havens could ratchet up US military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from President Barack Obama's more cautious approach.

Increased US or allied air power would be required if President Donald Trump chooses to enforce ‘no fly’ restrictions, and ground forces might also be needed to protect civilians in those areas.

“Hard-fought victories in Iraq and Syria have swung the momentum in our coalition's favour, but we must increase the intensity of our efforts to solidify our gains in the next phase of the counter-ISIS fight,” Tillerson said. “Degradation of ISIS is not the end goal, we must defeat ISIS.”

Wednesday’s event was the first meeting of the international coalition since the election of Trump, who has pledged to make the fight against Islamic State a priority. He vowed in January to set up safe zones in Syria for refugees.

Tillerson called on coalition partners to make good on financial pledges to help secure and rebuild areas where Islamic State fighters have been pushed out. The coalition expects to raise about $2 billion for humanitarian assistance, stabilization and demining in Iraq and Syria for 2017.

Iraqi government forces, backed by the U.S.-led international coalition, retook several Iraqi cities from Islamic State last year and have liberated eastern Mosul. — Agencies 

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