JEDDAH, Sept 12 (Reuters): The United States signed up Arab allies Thursday to a "coordinated military campaign" against Islamic State fighters, a major step in building regional support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier.
After talks in Saudi Arabia's summer capital Jeddah, Secretary of State John Kerry won backing from 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states including rich rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar - for a coalition to fight the Sunni militants that have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria.
"Arab nations play a critical role in that coalition, the leading role really across all lines of effort: military support, humanitarian aid, our work to stop the flow of illegal funds," Kerry told a news conference.
Non-Arab Sunni power Turkey also attended the Jeddah talks but two other major regional players - Shi'ite Iran and Syria itself - were excluded, a sign of the difficulty of building a coalition across the Middle East's sectarian battle lines.
The Arab states agreed in a communique to do more to stop the flow of funds and fighters to Islamic State and help rebuild communities "brutalized" by the group.
Kerry met the Arab leaders to drum up support a day after Obama announced his plans to strike fighters in Iraq and Syria.
US wins Arab support against IS fighters
FE Team | Published: September 13, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like