ground forces needed to defeat Daesh

Ground forces from Arab countries, including Syria must be found to take on Daesh, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

Addressing a meeting in Belgrade of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kerry warned the militant group would not be defeated by air strikes alone.

"I think we know that without the ability to find some ground forces that are prepared to take on Daesh, this will not be won completely from the air," Kerry said.

He said the terrorist group can be defeated months after reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

In a policy reversal, the United States on Oct. 30 said it would deploy up to 50 U.S. special forces to Syria to coordinate on the ground with U.S.-backed rebels.

Kerry met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting, with Washington and Moscow at odds over the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad more than four years into a war that has killed over 250,000 people.

Sources: MENA