Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid MuallemReuters

Speaking to the UN General Assembly Monday a bit before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the stage, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem appealed to the world to fight back against the Islamic State (ISIS).

Muallem said that his country supported all efforts to fight terror. “The Syrian Republic stresses that it stands by the side of any international effort to fight terror,” he said.

Muallem said that the time for action was now, but stopped short of congratulating the US for its decision to attack Islamic State groups from the air. He added that any attacks on the Islamists needed to ensure that Syrian citizens remained safe.

He also stressed that any international effort not interfere with the sovereignty of Syria or Iraq, but he did not complain about the recent attacks conducted by the UK and US on Islamic State forces Syrian territory.

“The world must make fighting the Islamic State, Al-Nusra, and Al Qaeda a priority,” he said.

Reports earlier said that Islamist fighters for ISIS, the Islamic State, which has already conquered large areas of Lebanon and Iraq, are at the gates of Baghdad.

Despite the aerial attacks being carried out by the US and its allies, the group's fighters have been steadily progressing, and are said to be barely a mile from the city.

The report in the Independent newspaper, published in London, quoted officials of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East.

According to the officials, Islamic State terrorists could basically enter the city at will, as there is little substantial defense to prevent them from doing so.

"The Islamic State are now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad," the spokesperson said. “They said it could never happen and now it almost has. [US President Barack] Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do.”