Islamic State terrorists and their affiliates continue to stage offensives on multiple fronts, with attacks occurring in both Libya and Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday. The ISIS jihadis are continuing to advance in the face of US airstrikes, the New York Times notes.
President Obama pledged Wednesday an additional 450 American military advisers to Iraq to train the country’s military, hoping to get the Baghdad fighters ready to take back the city of Ramadi and push back ISIS’s advances. The request for more American military trainers came directly from new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, according to reports.
Mr. Obama’s Wednesday troop increase announcement is seen as a way to stay more active in the battles against the jihadist group, and he can also avoid “being pulled more deeply into a war he never wanted,” The Washington Post writes.
But as White House officials continue to scramble for ideas, ISIS has continued to make gains throughout the Islamic world.
On Tuesday, ISIS-aligned fighters struck on multiple fronts, carrying out attacks near Baghdad and Surt, Libya.
In Libya, the jihadis captured a vital powerplant, the New York Times reported. In Iraq, the ISIS militants continue to encroach upon the capital city.
Australian intelligence services believe that the terrorist group now has enough nuclear material to make a dirty bomb, according to a report.
On Wednesday, officials said an American citizen fighting alongside Kurdish forces against ISIS was killed during a gunbattle. Keith Broomfield of Massachusetts, the slain American fighter, is believed to be the first U.S. citizen to die fighting with the Kurds.