Tillerson to host meeting of anti-IS coalition in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host a meeting of nations in the U.S.-led global coalition to fight the Islamic State group in Washington later this month, a State Department official said Thursday.

Foreign ministers and senior officials from 68 nations and international organizations are invited for the two-day gathering starting March 22. The official was not authorized to discuss planning for the meeting, first reported by The Washington Post, ahead of a formal announcement later Thursday and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The meeting signals the Trump administration's intent to sustain U.S. leadership of the coalition, initiated in 2014 under the Obama administration. The Islamic State group is under growing military pressure in Iraq and Syria. U.S.-backed forces are preparing to battle for the group's self-declared headquarters in Raqqa.

It will be the first full meeting of the coalition since December 2014. It is intended to accelerate international efforts to defeat IS and increase pressure on its affiliates and networks. The meeting will also address the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict.

President Donald Trump has vowed to defeat IS but has been strongly critical of the Obama administration's approach. Pentagon leaders sent a new plan to defeat the militant group to the White House late last month. It outlined a strategy that would likely increase the number of U.S. troops in Syria in order to better advise and enable the U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told The Associated Press Thursday that the U.S. risks major damage to its relationship with Turkey, which is a NATO ally and part of the U.S.-led coalition against IS, if the U.S. includes Kurdish forces in the fight to retake Raqqa.