LONDON – Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond on Thursday warned that Iraqi forces are [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]months away from being able to launch proper combat operations against Islamic State (IS).
He issued the warning hours before hosting a London meeting of the U.S.-led coalition against the
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militant group.
According to Hammond, Britain will be hosting senior officials from 21 countries to discuss how they can step up their campaign against IS in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere by doing more militarily.
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry is attending as is Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, who was due to meet British PM David Cameron beforehand.
He wanted more training and equipment for his soldiers beyond the air strikes which the coalition is already conducting.
Hammond praised Iraqi forces, saying the coalition was helping rebuild them so they could launch a sustained ground offensive against IS.
However, he warned it was a slow process.
“It will be months yet before they are ready to start significant combat operations,’’ Hammond told newsmen. (Reuters/NAN)