Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL General John Allen was in Sarajevo today to brief senior BiH political and security leadership on Coalition efforts to degrade and defeat ISIL. General Allen had productive meetings with members of the Presidency of BiH, OSA leadership, and representatives from security, judicial, and law enforcement institutions. General Allen also met with Reis Kavazovic and other leaders of the Islamic Community to discuss Coalition support for their counter-messaging work and outreach to populations at risk of radicalization.
In all his meetings today General Allen expressed his appreciation for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and its participation in the Foreign Terrorist Fighter and Counter Finance Working Groups. General Allen affirmed the importance of enhancing our information and intelligence sharing to help halt the flow of foreign fighters, including developing a fully-coordinated response to terrorism, harmonizing legal and security measures with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s neighbors, and further enforcing existing laws. General Allen noted his appreciation for BiH’s recent donation of ammunition to Iraqi forces combatting ISIL, for our strong bilateral cooperation on counter-terrorism issues, and for working-level law enforcement and intelligence officers who work every day to counter terrorism and violent extremism.
