Islamic State: Pope calls for international consensus

The  coalition partners listed by the State Department  that have joined this effort to date are:.

The State Department  outlined  five areas of possible involvement by coalition members as formulated  by Secretary of State John Kerry and recently resigned Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel:

1. Providing military support ;
2. Impeding the flow of foreign fighters;
3. Stopping Islamic State  financing and funding;
4. Addressing humanitarian crises in the region; and
5. Exposing Islamic State’s  true nature.

Not all coalition partners have participated  in the countless aerial bombing attacks on Islamic State forces.

As at 6 November  Australian fighter jets had flown 144 missions against Islamic State and dropped twenty-five 500-pound laser and GPS-guided bombs on 14 ISIL targets, with 11 destroyed and three damaged.

Belgium, France, Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom have also been involved in aerial strikes against Islamic State fighters.

However the two notable omissions from this international coalition ranged against Islamic State are China and Russia – both members of the Security Council holding the power to veto any stronger action by the Security Council up to now.

Such action is becoming increasingly urgent as an unknown number of foreign fighters flock to join Islamic State and a pledge of allegiance has been  made by Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis – a Jihadi based organisation based in the Sinai Peninsula.

Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared on November 10:

We announce to you the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries, to the countries of the Haramayn [Saudi Arabia], Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Algeria,

Baghdadi claimed  them as new provinces under Islamic State.