Military chiefs gathered in the Saudi capital on Thursday sought to bolster the Iraqi army against the jihadist Islamic State group, a Western diplomatic source said.
United States General Lloyd Austin, who heads the US-led war against IS, is among the senior officers attending the two-day talks that opened Wednesday in Riyadh behind closed doors.
“I’m confident that they are looking at a firm plan, a coordinated plan, to empower the Iraqi army” against IS, the source said, asking for anonymity.
With “nobody” interested in putting ground troops into the country, strengthening Iraq’s 200,000-strong army against about 30,000 IS fighters remains the best option, he said.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
