US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Islamic State not fully defeated, still poses a threat

Cairo: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday said that the Islamic State terror organisation was not yet fully defeated and continued to pose a danger to the region despite losing 98 percent of its territory in Iraq and Syria. Tillerson, in a speech broadcast on Kuwaiti state television, stressed that the US was working with its international coalition partners to reinforce military successes against the Islamic State, noting that it was necessary to secure liberated areas to avoid the terror group’s return. [caption id=“attachment_4316637” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. AP[/caption]

Tillerson made the remarks at a meeting in Kuwait with foreign ministers from participating countries in the anti-Islamic State coalition, held on the sidelines of a donor conference in the Kuwaiti capital for the reconstruction of Iraq. The Iraqi government said on Monday it would need an estimated $88.2 billion for reconstruction, according to the Director General of Iraq’s planning ministry, Qusay Adulfattah. The Iraqi government had announced the country’s total liberation from the Islamic State in December, but the terror organization still controls some pockets of territory in neighbouring Syria. Regarding Syria, Tillerson pledged that Washington will offer $200 million to support efforts to stabilize the Arab country. He said that the US will continue to support the militias with which Washington collaborates in Syria, referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, stressing that his country will ensure that these groups operate professionally. Tillerson added that the US fully understands the security concerns of Turkey, which began a military offensive last month into Syria against US-backed Kurdish militias in the northern region of Afrin. The US Secretary of State is scheduled to travel to Turkey in the coming days, as part of a West Asia tour that began on Sunday night in Cairo and will also include stops in Jordan and Lebanon.