Defence ministers of anti-ISIL coalition to meet in US

Pic courtesy: AP

Washington: US Secretary of Defence Aston Carter will host defence ministers from 34 nations along with senior leaders from countries part of the counter-ISIL coalition and NATO next week to discuss the ongoing military campaign against the Islamic State terror group.

The meeting will discuss progress to date, the essential next steps in the campaign and how the nations of the coalition can accelerate the drive to deal ISIL a lasting defeat, the Pentagon said.

"The Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter will host ministers of defence and other senior leaders from nations of the counter-ISIL coalition and from NATO at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on July 20 to discuss the ongoing military campaign against ISIL," the Pentagon said.

For this, 34 nations have been invited to attend the second meeting of defence ministers contributing forces or basing to the counter-ISIL coalition.

"The meeting comes at a significant moment in the counter-ISIL campaign," the Pentagon said.

It follows Carter's visit to Iraq this week, in which he congratulated Iraq forces for recent progress against ISIL forces in Fallujah and Qayyarah and announced the latest support to help accelerate the campaign.