US to host anti-Daesh coalition summit

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

The U.S. will host a meeting of coalition foreign ministers and senior leaders later this month, the State Department announced on Thursday.

The March 22 gathering will be the first full meeting of the 68-member coalition since December 2014, the department said in a statement, noting that the anti-Daesh fight is at a "key moment.

"We are at an important stage of the fight against ISIS and will use this Ministerial to accelerate international efforts to defeat ISIS in the remaining areas it holds in Iraq and Syria and maximize pressure on its branches, affiliates, and networks," it said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

In addition to "a detailed discussion" of the coalition's priorities in advancing the military campaign, the ministers will address Iraq and Syria's ongoing humanitarian crises.

Smaller groups of countries have regularly met since the December 2014 meeting.

Coalition foreign ministers last met in Washington in July 2016, the department said, noting that political leaders last met in Berlin, Germany last November.