The defence ministers of seven countries leading the battle against the Islamic State group met in Paris on Wednesday to review strategy as the extremists spread their influence around the globe.
The French and US defence ministers, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Ashton Carter, hosted the meeting attended by their Australian, British, Dutch, German and Italian counterparts.
British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said it would look at ways to “capitalise on the setbacks that Daesh (an alternative name for IS) has suffered in Iraq and tighten the noose around the head of the snake in Syria.”
But the coalition must also face up to the spread of IS around the world, notably in Libya where political chaos has allowed the group to build a 3,000-strong force.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was not invited to Wednesday’s meeting, though US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Zurich at the same time to discuss Syria.
Moscow’s air campaign, which it claims is targeted against IS, has been criticised for focusing on the moderate opposition to Assad.
“I’m increasingly disturbed by the Russian bombing,” Fallon told reporters in Paris.
“We’ve had estimates of several hundred civilians killed now through the use of unguided munitions in civilian areas, clearly aimed at opposition groups that are fighting Assad, and that I deplore,” he added.
IS has seen some setbacks, losing around a quarter of its self-proclaimed caliphate, including the Iraqi city of Ramadi to US-backed local forces last month.
Washington this week claimed to have leaked IS documents showing the group had cut fighters’ pay by half since the coalition stepped up bombing of oil production, a key source of revenue for the group.
But the coalition faces major challenges, particularly the lack of ground forces willing to fight IS in Syria, since most groups are focused on toppling Assad.
IS showed its continued threat this week, taking 400 people hostage when it attacked the eastern Syrian town of Deir Ezzor. Some 270 have since been released.
“The sooner the civil war is brought to an end the better, and then we can all focus on the enemy that is Daesh,” Fallon said.
