Anti-Daesh coalition meeting starts in Kuwait

By Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar

KUWAIT CITY (AA) – A ministerial meeting for a U.S.-led coalition against the Daesh terrorist group kicked off Tuesday in Kuwait.

Addressing the opening session of the meeting, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah said Daesh’s collapse reflects commitment of the coalition member-states to fight terrorism.

“The international community still faces a direct threat by armed groups, which requires opening up new prospects in the international coalition,” he told participants in the one-day meeting.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, for his part, cited that the international coalition has dismantled Daesh from nearly 98 percent of Syrian and Iraqi territories it had seized.

He said Daesh still poses a threat to the region despite being expelled from Iraq, calling for rallying efforts to prevent the return of the terrorist group to Iraq and Syria.

Tillerson also vowed to allocate $200 million to support coalition’s efforts against Daesh in Syria.

Tuesday’s meeting comes as defense ministers of the coalition member states will meet in Rome to discuss joint cooperation regarding Daesh foreign fighters.

The anti-Daesh coalition was formed on Sep. 11, 2014 by 74 countries with a view to fighting against the terrorist organization.