US Secretary of State John Kerry today addressed via teleconference the Paris meeting on anti-ISIL coalition before he was scheduled to go for surgery of his right leg, which he broke while bicycling over the weekend in France.
Kerry, accompanied by his personal doctor, returned to Boston from Geneva on a military C-17 plane late last night. He then headed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he is scheduled to have surgery on his broken leg.
In his address to the anti-ISIL Coalition in Paris, Kerry said the Coalition remains the best hope of defeating the terrorist group -- known as 'Daesh' in Arabic acronym.
Noting that the coalition enters in the ninth month of its existence, he stressed on the urgency to deal with the expanding challenge from this terrorist organisation.
"Now is the time for greater resolution, not less. Daesh is a resilient and utterly ruthless foe that has weaknesses and can be defeated. We have known from the start that this would be a difficult, multi-year campaign," he said.
"Make no mistake: What happened in Ramadi was a setback. But it is one that we can help the Iraqis overcome," he said.
"One immediate step we are taking is to ship anti-tank rockets for use against the kind of suicide vehicles deployed in Ramadi. The first tranche of those rockets will arrive as early as this week. We are also continuing air missions in Anbar and elsewhere to keep the pressure on Daesh," he said.
