Kerry presses Mideast allies on militant fight

Secretary of State John Kerry sought to pin down Middle Eastern allies gathering in Saudi Arabia on Thursday on what support they are willing to give to the new U.S. plan to beat back the Islamic State group that has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

 

Regional support is seen as key to combatting the spread of the militant group, which has proved so ruthless that even al-Qaida severed ties with it earlier this year. Nearly 40 nations have agreed to contribute to what Kerry predicted will be a worldwide fight to defeat the group.

 

President Barack Obama on Wednesday laid out a long-term U.S. strategy against the group that would include expanding airstrikes against its fighters in Iraq, launching strikes against them in Syria for the first time and bolstering the Iraqi military and moderate Syrian rebels to allow them to reclaim territory from the militants.

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