Adopt common strategy to counter global terror: Modi

The call for a common strategy came during the bilateral meeting with the French President on the sidelines of the G20 summit

As the US leads a sustained campaign against the dreaded terror outfit Islamic State (IS), Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said success against global terror is within reach if countries adopt a common strategy.

The call for a common strategy by Modi came during his bilateral meeting with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

"Success against global terror is within reach if States adopt a common strategy," Modi told Hollande.

Modi's remarks came against the backdrop of US Defence Secretary Chuck Haagel's comments that the US-led air war against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will intensify and that the American people must prepare for a long and difficult struggle.

ISIS or IS is an al-Qaeda splinter group and it has seized hundreds of square miles in Iraq and Syria, declaring an Islamic Caliphate.

Hagel defended the US strategy during a House of Representatives hearing on Thursday, saying "As Iraqi forces build strength, the tempo and intensity of our coalition's air campaign will accelerate in tandem."

"ISIL's advance in parts of Iraq has stalled, and in some cases been reversed, by Iraqi, Kurdish, and tribal forces supported by US and coalition airstrikes," Hagel said.

He used the term ISIL, another acronym for the militant group.