“We also have to acknowledge that ISIL has been particularly effective at reaching out to and recruiting vulnerable people around the world, including here in the United States”.
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President Barack Obama addresses reporters at the Pentagon, July 6, 2015, after meeting with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left.
Obama and his military aides discussed “what’s working, and what we can do better”, the president said.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas said Obama is relying on Iran to carry out the fight, “allowing the ayatollahs to expand their malign regional influence”. They have been aided by Iranian-backed militias and Kurdish fighters in operations such as the ongoing effort to take back Anbar province.
US President Obama says recent territory losses by Islamic State show the extremist group will be defeated, but must include local forces on the ground.
Speaking at the Pentagon with his top military commanders at his side, Obama lauded the success of the 5,000 airstrikes against Islamic State positions and the efforts to cut off funding for the militant group.
Istanbul. Turkey’s army said on Tuesday it had detained nearly 800 people trying to cross illegally from Syria, including three suspected Islamic State militants, after bolstering security in border areas near where the radical Islamists hold ground.
ISIL lost the Mosul Dam, Mount Sinjar and Tikrit. The Syria-bound assaults were concurrent with 26 strikes in Iraq.
Over the weekend, the US-led coalition bombed the de facto IS capital – Raqqa in Syria – conducting some of heaviest air strikes in months.
Numerous individuals have been arrested across the country for plotting attacks inspired by Isis or attempting to join the group in Syria or Iraq, he added, while still pointing out that improvements to homeland security have successfully prevented another large-scale 9/11-style event.
“Our comprehensive strategy against ISIL is harnessing all elements of American power across our government: military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic, development and perhaps most importantly, the power of our values.” he opened. “Our airstrikes will continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so a lot of their operations”. I think you saw some of that in recent days.
“The fall of Ramadi has galvanized the Iraqi government”, he said, referring to the key Iraqi city that is under Islamic State control.
“More Sunni volunteers are coming forward”, he said.
According to Israel Defense Force (IDF) officials, the new fighting force is being trained and armed for unconventional counterterrorism and anti-Iranian missions.
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Again, the president called for a broader political effort in the region. He pledged that the United States will continue to provide training and equipment to local forces, including to Kurdish and tribal forces.
