U.S. ‘intensifying’ campaign against ISIS in northern Syria: Obama

The briefing comes a little over a year after Islamic State militants burst out of Syria and captured much of northwestern Iraq, laying bare the frailty of Iraqi security forces and the vulnerability of the Baghdad government following the US military withdrawal in 2011.

“As with any military effort, there will be periods of progress, but there are also going to be some setbacks”, Obama said. Most of those attacks have targeted Westerners or Shiite Muslims, whom the Islamic State considers infidels.

As he spoke at the Pentagon, Obama was joined onstage by commanders involved in the ISIL discussion, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Gen. Lloyd J. He said that while the U.S.is now better prepared to thwart large-scale terrorist attacks like 9/11, the threat from individual “lone wolves” or small terrorist cells has increased.

The high-level talks came after coalition air strikes that hit the Islamic State group s de facto capital Raqa in Syria over the weekend – some of the heaviest bombing since it began targeting the IS in Syria in September a year ago. The town, 50 km (30 miles) north of Raqqa city, was seized by Islamic State fighters from the Kurdish YPG militia in an attack on Monday. Sunday’s offensive was led by fighters from Kata’ib Hezbollah, part of the mainly Shiite Hashd Shaabi force fighting with the army against Islamic State.

They identify themselves as 21-year-old Faysal Hussein Habibi and 20-year-old Bishr Abdul-Azim and say they received $400 per month for the filming.

The video could not be independently verified, but it was posted on a page known to be linked to the militant group.

Critics of the administration say that the Obama strategy isn’t working and that it’s time for the president and his team to rethink it.

Isil said at least 10 people were killed and many others wounded in the attacks that activists said triggered successive explosions that shook the city and created panic among residents. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement. “But that will never happen if we continue to delude ourselves about our current campaign”.

After his discussions with defense leaders on Monday, the president said he had no immediate plans to send additional troops to Iraq.

“There’s a cause, a coalition that’s united countries across the globe, some 60 nations including Arab partners”, Obama said.

Speaking at the Pentagon on Monday, Obama said that recent territory losses by the ISIL group show that the armed group will be defeated, but added that the fight will be long. To fight ISIS in ways that include cutting off its funding, the “comprehensive strategy” includes “harnessing all elements of American power across our government-military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic development, and perhaps most importantly, the power of our values”, Obama said yesterday.

Information for this article was contributed by Christi Parsons of Tribune News Service and by staff members of The Associated Press.