Obama, Hollande reiterate commitment to destroy Islamic State: White House

Xinhua

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U.S. President Barack Obama and his French counterpart Francois Hollande on Thursday reiterated their "unwavering commitment to degrade and destroy" the Islamic State (IS), the White House said.

In a telephone call made at the end of an Asia-Pacific summit in the Philippines, Obama and Hollande discussed "the lastest developments in the investigation" into the Paris terrorist attacks last week, the White House said in a statement.

The White House said on Tuesday that Obama was set to host Hollande at the White House on Nov. 24 to coordinate counterterrorism efforts.

"The leaders will engage in discussions on the way forward to defeat ISIL (another acronym of IS), help to bring to an end the conflict in Syria, and to ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard our citizens from the threat of terrorism," the statement said.

The Islamic State, a militant group that has overrun vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the bloody Paris carnage, which killed at least 129 people and injured hundreds of others. Enditem