Kerry: U.S., allies are sharing more intelligence since Paris attack

“I don’t think people should be dismayed — I think they should be encouraged, in fact,” he said during public remarks before the coalition meeting. “Police forces, [the] law enforcement community of many countries have come together in an incredibly effective way to fight against an insidious, long-time planning process that has been in place.”

Kerry was referring to the sleeper terrorist cells that had been in Paris planning the attack for several years.

“And in a sense, we’re flushing them out,” he said. “And we need to step up and lead and be strong and be clear about what is at stake, and that’s exactly why we’re here and meeting today.”

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the meetings would focus on the military operation in Iraq and other parts of the coalition’s anti-Islamic State campaign as well.

“We’re very clear that undermining the narrative of [the Islamic State], interdicting the flow of foreign fighters, and stopping the flow of financial funding to [the Islamic State] is as important as the military campaign itself.”

Hammond reiterated President Obama’s assertion that the coalition stopped ISIS’ advance and said the allies are now working to rebuild Iraq’s army and security forces. He urged citizens of the countries involved to remain patient.

“We always said this would take time, but they will be capable and ready at some point to push back against [the Islamic State],” he said, referring to the Iraqi forces. “And in the meantime, we have to continue the work to undermine [the Islamic State’s] message in our own countries and to protect our own homelands with security measures both here and across the continent, in collaboration with our partners.”

Earlier Thursday, Kerry met with Iraqi President Haider al-Abadi and attended a meeting on Libya.