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04/27/2024 04:07:58 am

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Arab Leaders Join U.S. Military Campaign Against ISIL

Arab leaders

(Photo : REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) poses with 10 Arab foreign ministers who pledge support for the anti-ISIL campaign on September 11, 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State john Kerry secured Arab support for the international anti-ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) coalition on Thursday after meeting with the ministers of 10 Gulf and Arab states in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The United States has been courting Arab support for the anti-ISIL campaign since the formation of the international coalition at the end of the NATO Summit earlier this month.

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After talks in Jeddah, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with four other ministers-from Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan-issued a joint statement to contribute "as appropriate" to the international military campaign against the extremist group that has seized territories in Syria and northern Iraq, reported The New York Times.

In a written communiqué, the Arab leaders endorsed U.S. President Barack Obama's counterterrorism strategy to stop the flow of foreign fighters who seek to join the Islamic State group's ranks, curtail its financing, renounce its extremist ideology, and provide support and aid to communities that have been brutalized by the extremist group.

The leaders also hailed the formation of the new Iraqi government which they pledge to support.

Non-Arab Turkey also participated in the Jeddah talks but refused to sign the communiqué.

Shi'ite Iran and Syria, two key powers in the region, were excluded, a sign which shows the difficulty of creating a coalition across regional sectarian battle lines, the Voice of America reported.

None of the Arab leaders, however, said exactly what their governments intend to do. They also have not confirmed their involvement in the expanded airstrike campaign U.S. is mounting against the Islamic State militants.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the only Saudi foreign minister to speak to reporters after the meeting, said there is no limit to what his kingdom can provide. The prince stopped short of specifying his country's role in destroying the terrorist group, reported The New York Times. 

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