WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The briefing was conducted behind closed doors on Wednesday by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford.
"There is a lot more clarity and a lot more focus on partnering with other countries to completely annihilate ISIS [Daesh]," the release stated after the briefing. "There is a renewed energy and a renewed focus, and I think every senator present today knows this administration is not playing around."
The US-led coalition of more than 70 members is currently conducting airstrikes, ground-based and rocket-propelled artillery fire against daesh in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Iraq are conducted in support of the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the UN Security Council or the government of President Bashar Assad.