Fight against IS moving from military to law enforcement solutions, official says

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The struggle against the Islamic State (IS) is moving into a new phase and will shift from military to law enforcement solutions in most places, a U.S. official said here on Tuesday.

While addressing a meeting which has gathered representatives from some 90 countries and organizations, Nathan Sales, U.S. State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the fight against the IS was moving into a new phase and was "by no means over."

The two-day meeting was designed to discuss furthering law enforcement cooperation to eradicate the IS and its network globally against the backdrop that the extremist group has got largely defeated in Iraq and Syria.

"Yet as we defeat the IS on the battlefield, the group has adapted to our success," he said. "Battle-hardened terrorists are heading home from the war zone or wreaking havoc in third countries. Homegrown terrorists -- people who are inspired by the IS but have never set foot in Syria or Iraq -- are carrying out attacks."

He urged the international community to have a coordinated and effective strategy to combat the IS.

"As the IS becomes more dispersed, our priority must be to stop it from reconstituting itself as a fighting force with a physical safe haven," said Sales.

"We must also keep it from using the Internet as a virtual safe haven from which to radicalize or recruit new followers," he added.

The counter-terrorism expert noted that as the IS adapted, the struggle in most places will move from military to law enforcement solutions.

"Increasingly, we'll need to supplement our military efforts to defeat the IS with civilian measures that can ensure the group's enduring defeat."

Speaking of law enforcement tools, Sales listed prosecuting foreign terrorist fighters, collecting and using battlefield evidence, and updating laws to more effectively target the threat.

He also recommended tougher border screening and more robust information sharing both within governments and among them.

Countries are expected to designate and sanction the IS affiliates and financiers to cut off the flow of money, and to combat terrorist narratives, he added.

It would focus on specific actions to curb the IS global network, including watchlisting and information sharing, prosecution, detention and designation of terrorists.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department designated seven IS-affiliated groups and two leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Three of the seven groups, namely, the IS-West Africa, IS-Philippines and IS-Bangladesh, were also designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Sales noted that these designations are a critical step in degrading the IS global network and denying its affiliates the resources they need to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Enditem