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WASHINGTON, Feb. 6-- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday tried to reassure allies and partners that Washington will continue fighting the Islamic State (IS), after U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that "virtually" all of the territory has been liberated from the IS. Speaking at a ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat IS held at the State Department, Pompeo told foreign ministers and other senior officials from 79 countries that the U.S. troop's withdrawal from Syria was not "the end of America's fight." "The drawdown in troops is essentially a tactical change. It is not a change in the mission. It simply represents a new stage in an old fight," said the top U.S. diplomat. While calling on the attending nations to take back and prosecute foreign fighters captured by the U.S.-led forces, he also urged the coalition members and partners to keep fighting the IS and ensure the permanent defeat of the IS group. "To that end, we ask that our coalition partners seriously and rapidly consider requests that will enable our efforts to continue... those requests are likely to come very soon," he added, without giving further details. U.S. State Department said on Monday that the meeting, the 10th of its kind since the coalition was founded in 2017, will focus on the resources needed and specific plans against the IS in 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump would deliver remarks in the ministerial later at 3:00 PM local time on Wednesday. Reuters reported that he was expected to urge attendees "to stay the course and step up contributions to stabilization efforts." | 
