Antony Blinken warned that Islamic State still aspires to carry out large-scale attacks

The US Secretary of State, Antoine Blink, warned on Monday that, despite his defeat, Elements of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria “still aspire to carry out large-scale attacks”, for which he urged his partners in the international coalition against terrorism to continue their efforts on the ground.

As the United States works towards its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, members of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group gathered in Rome to plan future measures against the extremist group.

“Together, we must remain as committed to our stabilization goals as we were to our military campaign which resulted in victory on the battlefield.», Declared the head of the American diplomacy.

Blinken announced a new contribution of US $ 436 million to help displaced people in Syria and neighboring countries and called for a new effort to repatriate – and rehabilitate or prosecute – some 10,000 IS fighters who remain imprisoned by the Syrian defense forces. “This situation is simply untenable,” said Blinken. “It just cannot go on forever.”

With his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, he proposed the creation of a Task Force on Africa to integrate the countries of this continent, where the terrorist expansion is evident.

Both agreed that despite the progress made “There is a lot to do“And Blinken underlined, among the priorities, the fight” against the residual elements in Iraq and Syria “, to prevent ISIS from regaining ground in the territory where it has installed its” caliphate “between the two countries and that the coalition defeated in 2019.

The results obtained by the international coalition show “what goals can be achieved together” and among those that remain, he insisted on the need to fight against the residual ISIS cells that remain in Syria (where he estimated at about 10,000 ISIS militiamen) and Iraq and its growing threat in Africa.

The meeting took place just a day after the United States launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias near the Iraqi-Syrian border. “This self-defense action to do whatever is necessary to prevent further attacks sends a strong and very important message,” Blinken told reporters after meeting Pope Francis.

For his part, Di Maio thanked Ghana, Mozambique and Burkina Faso for their presence “as guest observers” before proposing the creation of a “Working Group dedicated to Africa, which addresses the problem. as a whole (…) with the participation of African countries interested in making their contribution. “

“ISIS was defeated in its territorial dimension, but it was not eradicated. This is why Italy, with more than 800 units deployed between Iraq and Kuwait, will continue in Iraq, always with respect for Iraqi sovereignty.Di Maio added.

But if “the threat in Iraq and Syria remains at the heart of the coalition’s commitment, we cannot fail to address its global ramifications, particularly on the African continent and, in particular, in the Sahel, whose stability is crucial. also for Europe and Europe. Enlarged Mediterranean ”, he added.

(With information from AP and EFE)

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