Coalition hitting Islamic State harder than ever, says Barack Obama

President Barack Obama has also reiterated his call for other nations to contribute more to the fight against Islamic State.

President Barack Obama insists the US-led coalition against Islamic State is hitting the group “harder than ever,” while reiterating the call for other nations to contribute more to the effort.

As part of his push for additional resources from coalition countries, Mr Obama said he is sending Defence Secretary Ash Carter to the Middle East this week to try to gain new commitments from leaders in the region.

”Progress needs to come faster” in the Islamic State fight, Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama’s remarks followed more than 90-minutes of meetings at the Pentagon with nearly three dozen defence officials and foreign-policy advisers.

Mr Carter leaves for Turkey today and for other stops in the Middle East. The US wants Turkey in particular to seal some 60-miles of its border with Syria to stop Islamic State fighters from moving in and out of the country.

His trip coincides with Secretary of State John Kerry’s arrival in Moscow this week to try to keep on track diplomatic negotiations on a political resolution to the Syrian conflict, which U.S. officials maintain would go a long way to blunting the threat posed by the extremist group.

Mr Obama in remarks at the Pentagon sized up progress in the fight, saying the US-led coalition had prevented Islamic State from gaining an offensive victory since the summer, had taken back sizeable tracts of land, and killed many extremist leaders in co-ordinated air strikes. Those strikes, Mr Obama said, should send a message to Islamic State leaders: “You are next.”

Wall Street Journal