U.S. Announces New Global Counterterrorism Body

U.S. President Barack Obama on September 9 also ordered measures to streamline the government's use of public communication tools in countering extremist ideology.

The U.S. State Department has announced it will soon launch a new informal and multilateral counterterrorism body involving more than 30 countries.

The department said in a statement that the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) is meant to help frontline countries and affected regions acquire the means to deal with terrorism threats and "to ensure the necessary international architecture is in place" to address those challenges.

The body will be launched in New York at the level of foreign ministers on the margins of the upcoming UN General Assembly meetings this month.

U.S. President Barack Obama on September 9 also ordered measures to streamline the government's use of public communication tools in countering extremist ideology.

compiled from agency reports