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US gives new priority to foreign fighters in Syria

US regional allies, including Turkey, may finally be forced to crack down on extremists in Syria.
Residents of Tabqa city and Islamic State militants tour the streets in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base in northeast Syria August 24, 2014. Islamic State militants stormed the air base in northeast Syria on Sunday, capturing most of it from government forces after days of fighting over the strategic location, a witness and a monitoring group said. Fighting raged inside the walls of the Tabqa air base, the Syrian army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by IS, w

US President Barack Obama will convene a heads of state meeting at the UN Security Council in September to address the threat of foreign fighters in Syria, according to US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

Speaking at a press briefing on Aug. 22, Rhodes said the United States considers foreign fighters returning from Syria a threat to US "homeland security" and the Obama administration expects "to enlist the support of partners in the region and the international community" to contain and defeat the Islamic State (IS).

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