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NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — The U.S. and 10 of its NATO allies have agreed to take on the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, by squeezing the group's financial resources and by targeting them with military might.
The agreement came at the NATO summit in Wales, where President Barack Obama said the new NATO coalition will be able to mount a sustained effort to push back the militants.
The U.S. secretaries of State and Defense, meeting with their counterparts at the international gathering, insisted that the Western nations build a plan by the time the U.N. General Assembly meets this month.
In laying out a strategy for Iraq, Obama hinted at a broader military campaign. He likened it to the way U.S. forces pushed back al-Qaida along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan -- using persistent airstrikes, usually by CIA drones.
So far, U.S. airstrikes in Iraq have been largely limited to helping Kurdish forces and protecting refugees.
Secretary of State John Kerry heads to the Middle East next week. He's hoping to expand the coalition beyond Western nations.
%@AP Links
215-w-34-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent, with President Barack Obama)--President Obama says he and other NATO leaders agree they must move against the Islamic State group that's causing havoc in Syria and Iraq. AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports. (5 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *215 (09/05/14)££ 00:34
199-a-07-(Chris Vernon, former British military officer, in interview)-"and perhaps France"-Chris Vernon, a former British military officer who served in Iraq, welcomes the idea of a 'core coalition' against the Islamic State militants. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (5 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *199 (09/05/14)££ 00:07 "and perhaps France"
203-a-11-(President Barack Obama, at news conference)-"so many people"-President Obama says NATO leaders are on board with going after the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. (5 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *203 (09/05/14)££ 00:11 "so many people"
APPHOTO XKK111: Iraqi Shiite fighters with the "Peace Brigades" search a taxi before open-air Friday prayers in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (13 Nov 2012)
<<APPHOTO XKK111 (11/13/12)££
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