US to host anti-extremism summit

White House officials were scheduled to kick off a high-level summit on Tuesday to discuss counterterrorism measures with representatives from nearly 60 countries.

The three-day conference will bring together businesses, academics and government officials, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to share best practices and agree on a plan of action against rising terrorist attacks.

US Vice President Joe Biden will inaugurate the meeting on Tuesday, and is due to discuss counterterrorism tactics with officials from Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis - cities considered to have the best anti-terror programs.

Obama expresses solidarity with Denmark

President Barack Obama is then scheduled to address a gathering at the White House on Wednesday to discuss how the US could improve the fight against terrorism domestically. He is also set to address international representatives at the State Department on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The US president on Monday spoke to Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, welcoming Denmark's participation in the summit and offering his condolences for the shootings over the weekend that left two dead.

During the phone call, Obama and Thorning-Schmidt "agreed on the need to work together to confront attacks on freedom of expression as well as against anti-Semitic violence," the White House said in a statement, adding that Obama expressed "American solidarity" with its Danish allies.

'Islamic State' not to be the sole focus

"This is about building a comprehensive network to fight back against violent extremism," an official told news agency AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the US wanted to "move into action."

The summit will highlight US and international efforts to prevent extremists from radicalizing, recruiting and inspiring others to join in their subversive activities. Leaders would also focus on terror groups other than the "Islamic State," a White House official told the Associated Press, adding that extremists came "in all shapes and sizes."

Countries such as Jordan, whose pilot was brutally murdered by "Islamic State" (IS) militants and the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the US-led coalition fighting the IS in Iraq, were also expected to attend the gathering.

The summit comes after a series of brutal attacks, including those at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last month, the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya in recent days and this weekend's attacks in Copenhagen.

mg/cmk (AFP, AP)