ERBIL, Iraq
The leader of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region has welcomed a new strategy by the U.S. to eliminate Islamic State rebels in the north of the country.
Kurdish Regional Government president Massoud Barzani described the U.S.-led plan as “a turning point in the war against terrorism”, according to a statement released by the KRG presidency on Friday.
U.S. president Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that the U.S. would lead an international coalition to take action against IS militants, not only in Iraq, but in Syria as well.
“The new U.S. strategy will certainly work towards weakening the ISIS [Islamic State] with the ultimate aim of eradication,” the KRG statement said.
“All international efforts undertaken by anti-terrorism forces are seen [as] meaningful.”
President Barzani said his Kurdish Regional Government was ready to join an international coalition formed to eliminate terrorism and its financial, moral and military support.
Barzani referred to eliminating the Islamic State not only in Iraq, but in Syria as well. “There needs to be a way to lift the cultural and political grounds of terror,” he said.
Iraq has been gripped by violence since Islamic State militants seized western and northern areas of the country in June.
An estimated 1.2 million Iraqis have been forced from their homes by the fighting.
www.aa.com.tr/en
