Pentagon presses allies for more muscle on ISIS

The Pentagon is pressing America’s allies in Europe and the Arab world for extra muscle in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Defense officials are hoping outrage over the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris inspires fierce backlash against the extremist organization, according to The Associated Press. 

{mosads}Defense Secretary Ash Carter has tasked his top advisers with seeking fresh military contributions from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, Gen. Phillip Breedlove, the top U.S. commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Lt. Gen. Sean McFarland, the top commander against ISIS, are among those involved.

Requests they’re sending out include new equipment and supplies, as well as military trainers and special operations forces.

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, Italy has contributed Tornado fighter jets for reconnaissance, weapons for Kurdish soldiers and training units in Iraq.

Rome has also expressed interest in escalating its efforts against ISIS further.

“We are ready to help our French brothers, but neither they, nor the Americans, nor we will make excursions into Syria,” Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday on RAI state television, adding that Italy is awaiting pleas for help from the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad.

French President Francois Hollande is visiting both Washington, D.C., and Moscow next week in hopes of inspiring more military aid.

Pentagon officials also hope Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will help counter the threat of ISIS, AP added, given the danger it poses their regional stability.

America’s push for harsher retribution against ISIS follows the group’s rising campaign of violence worldwide.

It most recently claimed responsibility for the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, a string of bombings and shootings that killed 130 and wounded over 300 others there.

Moscow has also concluded ISIS downed a Russian passenger jet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31, an incident that killed 224 passengers.

France and Russia have since stepped up their air campaigns against ISIS camps in Iraq and Syria, alongside the U.S.

ISIS, in return, threatened fresh violence against the West earlier this week, particularly New York and Washington.

French police also conducted a daring predawn raid last Wednesday against suspected attackers during the Nov. 13 massacre.

They confirmed Thursday that the operation in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis had killed the alleged ringleader of the Paris carnage.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, reportedly died after his body was “riddled” with bullets during a shootout early Wednesday. French authorities added that they killed one other suspect and arrested seven more during the violent sweep.