France and Britain said Tuesday the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group must press on and re-take Raqa as President Donald Trump mulled a new strategy to defeat the radical militants.
France, the second largest contributor to the 68-country coalition fighting in Syria and Iraq, considers the fight against IS the “number one priority,” said Ambassador Francois Delattre.
“It’s very important that this country that we are living in fully recognizes the threat of Daesh,” said Delattre, using the Arab acronym for Islamic State.
“We helped the Iraqi forces to retake Mosul. The battle to retake Raqa in Syria is also critical,” the ambassador told reporters ahead of a Security Council meeting on the threat posed by IS.
Britain also said the coalition, set up by former president Barack Obama in 2014, must stay the course.