U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the Islamic State group is “no more a state than I am a helicopter.”
Mr. Kerry told a summit audience by phone that the large swathes of territory that the Sunni radical terror group controls does not constitute a state and should not be considered Islamic. The terror organization recently captured the Iraqi city of Ramadi on May 17. The ancient Syrian city of Palmyra was seized on May 20.
“No one anywhere should be deceived into calling it a state or — far worse — traveling to the territory occupied by Daesh under the delusion that they are somehow serving their faith,” the secretary said, CNN reported Tuesday.
Mr. Kerry added that it was important for the U.S.-led coalition to “maintain momentum in the battle of ideas,” CNN reported.
The secretary fractured his right femur during a cycling accident outside of Geneva on Sunday. His four-nation tour was canceled, and he is recovering in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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