WASHINGTON, September 14 (RIA Novosti) - Former commander of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has been oficially appointed Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, according to the announcement by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"In this role, General Allen will help build and sustain the coalition so it can operate across multiple lines of effort in order to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL," as quoted by the press service of the US State Department.
John Kerry is currently on a tour to the Middle East in order to create an international coalition to combat terrorism and the Islamic State (or ISIL) in particular. Kerry was able to obtain the consent of ten Arab countries to oppose the IS fundamentalists along with Washington.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it launched an offensive in Iraq and seized vast areas in both countries, proclaiming an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
