US, allies agree to intensify fight against Islamic State

“Every nation must come prepared to discuss further contributions to the fight”, he said.

Kerry said the coalition had upped its engagement significantly, noting that defense chiefs from the United States, France, Britain and four other countries had pledged to intensify the fight.

Ash Carter, U.S. Defence Secretary, described the gathering which started on Wednesday as a chance for face-to-face talks among the core contributors in the U.S. led coalition, which also includes Germany, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands.

The civilians released will remain in Islamic State-run villages in the province of Deir al-Zor, which links the group’s de facto capital in Raqqa with territory controlled by the militant group in neighbouring Iraq.

Defeating ISIL is a global undertaking because the terrorist group presents a global threat, Carter said.

A joint statement by the Western ministers re-committed their governments to work with the US-led coalition ‘to accelerate and intensify the campaign’. Obama would be briefed on the meeting when Carter returns to the US.

Edit No: 3293 “We agreed that we all must do more”.

He focused on efforts to “collapse” the Islamic State’s power centres of al Raqqa, in Syria, and Mosul, in Iraq.

“So for example, as territory is retaken from IS, as moving up and ultimately including Mosul, there are going to need to be not just ground forces that can seize territory, but police forces that can keep security”, the Defense Secretary said.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter says there is broad agreement on a coordinated plan to battle IS over the next year and take back key cities in Iraq and Syria from the militants.

The US is asking countries to increase their contribution to the campaign, including special forces, fighter and reconnaissance jets, drones, training and weapons and munitions. “The military actions that the United States, France, and our coalition partners have taken in recent months have allowed the campaign to gather momentum, and to apply pressure to ISIL in Iraq and Syria on more fronts than at any other point in the campaign”.

IS has seen some setbacks, losing around a quarter of its self-proclaimed caliphate, including the Iraqi city of Ramadi to US-backed local forces last month.

UN-brokered Syrian peace talks including Moscow are tentatively set for next Monday in Geneva, but the main parties have yet to agree on who will represent the Syrian opposition.

Le Drian and Carter both said military cooperation with Russia was impossible as long as Russian planes were attacking Syrian rebel groups that are opposed to the Islamic State. But the vital needs are trainers and surveillance assets, such as drones. How can we get them in the game.

Carter announced an unprecedented meeting of 26 defense ministers in the anti-IS coalition, plus Iraq, to be held in Brussels on February 11 and warned he would demand greater effort.