Friday, January 22, 2016

Kerry vows to 'seriously dent' ISIS this year

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday said the Islamic State (ISIS) group would be "very seriously" weakened in Syria and Iraq this year, as France announced that some 22,000 jihadists have been killed by the US-led coalition.

Air strikes by the alliance that includes Gulf states, France and Britain have been pounding ISIS positions since August 2014, with Washington claiming major gains against the extremists.

"I think that by the end of 2016, our goal of very seriously denting Daesh in Iraq and Syria and of trying to have an impact on Mosul (in Iraq) and Raqa (in Syria) will be achieved," Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, using an alternative name for ISIS. (READ MORE)