WASHINGTON, September 11 (RIA Novosti) -The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has agreed to host the train-and-equipment programs of the Syria's "moderate opposition," the US official told journalists.
"We now have the commitment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be a full partner in this effort - the train-and-equip program, to host that program," the official said, adding that the specific site on which the trainings will take place is currently being discussed.
On Wednesday, the White House said, that ahead of his speech on US strategy on defeating the Islamic State, President Barack Obama called Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and the two leaders "agreed that a stronger Syrian opposition is essential to confronting extremists like [Islamic State] as well as the [Syria's President Bashar] Assad regime."
The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a Sunni jihadist group that has been fighting against the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq, declaring a caliphate on the territories under its control later that month.
