Libya new focus in fight against IS

US State Secretary John Kerry says the global coalition's efforts to destroy IS must continue.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says a global coalition is pushing the Islamic State group back in Syria and Iraq but the jihadists are a growing threat in oil-rich Libya.

Speaking in Rome on Tuesday at a meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Combat ISIL/Daesh, Kerry said the coalition created in mid-2015 remained committed to destroying the terror group.
Australia has been a key player and military contributor to the coalition and on Tuesday Kerry hugged and chatted with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop before the start of the meeting.
Australia has around 780 defence personnel deployed in the Middle East engaged in Operation Okra to counter IS in the region, including air strikes by RAAF fighter jets on IS targets in Syria and Iraq.
Opening the meeting, Kerry announced that Afghanistan, where IS is trying to make inroads, had just joined the grouping.
But Libya was a key focus on Tuesday, with Western nations considering military and other action to oust IS from the North African nation and restore a unified and stable government able to protect its people.
IS militants have established a foothold in the Libyan city of Sirte, exploiting the division between two rival governments, who it is hoped will form a unity government under a UN-backed plan.
"In Libya, we are on the brink of getting a government of national unity," Kerry said.
"That country has resources. The last thing in the world you want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars of oil revenue."
But Kerry said much progress had been made since the creation of the coalition, including the recapture of the city of Ramadi by Iraqi forces.
He said nearly 10,000 coalition air strikes had killed around 90 senior IS leaders and hammered the militants' heavy weapons, training camps and oil fields.
Islamic State had in recent months lost about 40 per cent of its territory in Iraq and 20 per cent in Syria.
"We are surely not here to brag about anything, we are here to recommit, to re-evaluate.
"But eight months later it is fair to say our commitment is making a difference.
"This battle is ultimately going to be won by forces on the ground," Kerry said.
He said the coalition would push ahead with strategies that had been proven to work and it would do so relentlessly "so Daesh has no place to run, no place to hide".
"I am absolutely confident, I have no doubt, we are going to downgrade and destroy Daesh."
The meeting's co-chair, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the coalition should not underestimate Daesh and a new dangerous phase may be starting.
He said the more Daesh was squeezed in its core territory the more it was likely to carry out terror attacks "in our own countries".
The one-day meeting in Rome took place as UN-backed talks continue in Geneva to end the Syrian civil war.
AAP Europe Correspondent