Egypt’s FM in Italy for int’l coalition against ISIS summit

Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry is in Italy to take part in the Summit of the International Coalition against ISIS on Tuesday, the ministry’s spokesperson told Aswat Masriya on Tuesday.

The meeting aims to devise a new strategy for the coalition’s members, a total of 24 states, to combat terrorism in Syria and Iraq, Spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid added.

The coalition consists of a number of western countries such as the United States and France as well as Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Shoukry is scheduled to hold individual meetings on the sidelines of the summit with some of his counterparts in the coalition.

The Egyptian military has been battling an insurgency in parts of North Sinai where Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a self-proclaimed ISIS affiliate, has been carrying out attacks against military and police forces.

Hundreds of police and army personnel have died combating the insurgency, while security forces claim to have killed hundreds of militants in the campaign.

source:Ahram Online