Europe needs to step up Islamic State fight - U.S. defence chief

A forensic police prepares outside the terminal at Brussels international airport following bomb attacks in Brussels metro and Belgium's International airport of Zaventem, Belgium, March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Pool

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday the Brussels attacks will demonstrate to Europe that it needs join the United States in stepping up the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

"The Brussels event is going to further signify to Europeans that, as we have been accelerating our campaign to defeat ISIL in Syria and Iraq and elsewhere, they need to accelerate their efforts and join us," said Carter, using an acronym for Islamic State, in an interview on CNN.