Allies finalize plans to defeat IS groupWASHINGTON - The United States gathered its allies in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group Wednesday and agreed on a plan to corner the jihadists in their final bastions. "Today, we made the plans and commitments that will help us deliver ISIL the lasting defeat that it deserves," Carter told reporters at an air base outside Washington. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters that an accelerated military effort would soon see the group pushed back to Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. Defense ministers from the Western and Arab countries of the coalition said they have a military plan to liberate the cities with local Iraqi and Syrian forces. Britain's defense minister, Michael Fallon, said London would double to 500 the number of its troops assigned to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting the IS group.

Source: The China Post July 20, 2016 21:56 UTC