U.S. Seeks To Stem Islamic State Networks After Baghdadi Death
U.S. Seeks To Stem Islamic State Networks After Baghdadi Death
The U.S. is moving to contain the Islamic State’s regional networks in parts of Afghanistan and Africa, following the death of the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a State Department official said.
Islamic State affiliates in West Africa, Greater Sahara and Khorasan province in Afghanistan remain “serious threats” that have to be “capped from metastasizing further,” said Ambassador Nathan Sales, the State Department’s counter-terrorism coordinator.
“We have to be working closely with regional partners who share our concern about these threats to bring to bear all the tools of national power,” Sales speaking from Manila in a conference call Friday.
The U.S. will establish a center in the Philippines to train Southeast Asian authorities on how to counter Islamic State sympathizers in the region and respond in case of terror attacks, the State Department official said.
Southeast Asian nations will also get U.S. assistance to boost border security and cooperation to cut off the flow of fighters, weapons and money used for terrorism, Sales said. The U.S. stands ready to sanction and blacklist financial institutions like banks and companies that act as front for terror groups, he added.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard, Muneeza Naqvi
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