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US hitting IS harder than ever, says Obama US hitting IS harder than ever, says Obama
(35 minutes later)
The US is hitting so-called Islamic State harder than ever, President Barack Obama has said in a speech at the Pentagon. The US is hitting so-called Islamic State (IS) harder than ever, President Barack Obama has said in a speech at the Pentagon.
He is seeking to ease public concern following attacks in California and France, at the hands of militants who were either loyal or sympathetic to IS. More air strikes were launched against the group in November than in any previous month, he said.
On Thursday he will visit the National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia, where he is also expected to speak. In recent weeks, the US-led coalition has killed a number of its leaders and attacked oil facilities it controlled.
He was not expected to announce any major changes in anti-IS strategy. Mr Obama has been seeking to reassure the public following an attack in California that killed 14 people.
The National Security Council (NSC) will hold a rare outside-of-the-White House meeting at the Pentagon ahead of Mr Obama's remarks. The two suspects were a radicalised Muslim couple who struck weeks after the killing of 130 people by Islamist gunmen in Paris.
The marquee visits come about a week after Mr Obama gave a major televised address to reassure the public of his strategy and to warn against anti-Muslim sentiment in the US. Around 9,000 air strikes have been launched against the group since the start of the campaign in the summer of 2014.
In recent weeks, US fears of a terror attack have swelled, with about 70% of Americans saying the risk of an attack in the US is at least somewhat high. Noting that IS had lost 40% of the territory it once controlled in Iraq, Mr Obama said that the terror group had not had a single successful ground operation in either Syria or Iraq since the summer.
The White House spokesman said that Mr Obama would not be making any major policy changes in regards to IS, but said: "If there's an opportunity for us to intensify efforts behind one aspect of our strategy, then that is something that he wants his team to be prepared to do." He cautioned that the US and its partners faced "a very tough fight ahead".
Just before the Thanksgiving holiday in November, Mr Obama delivered a speech saying that there was no "specific or credible" threat of a terrorist attack in the US. Mr Obama listed the militant group's leaders who had been targeted and killed.
Using another acronym for the group, he said: "The point is, Isil leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple: 'You are next.'"
Among those listed was Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British militant known as Jihadi John, who appeared in videos of the beheadings of Western hostages and who was killed last month.
The National Security Council (NSC) held a rare outside-of-the-White House meeting at the Pentagon ahead of Mr Obama's remarks.
On Thursday he will visit the National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia, where he is expected to receive a briefing and then speak.
The two visits come as Mr Obama tries to reassure a wary US public of his strategy against the militant group.
Just over a week ago, he gave a major televised speech with the same objective and to warn against anti-Muslim sentiment.
Critics of his strategy continue to ratchet up pressure.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said on Monday: "It's obvious that the president's current strategy isn't working.
"Far from being contained - much less defeated - Isis has now extended the reach of its terror farther than ever before."
In recent weeks, US fears of a terror attack have swelled, with about 70% of Americans saying the risk of an attack in the US is at least "somewhat high".