Obama: Fight Against IS 'Will Not Be Quick'

Barack Obama has said the US needs to do more to combat the threat of Islamic State and has insisted the military campaign will take time to complete.

The US President said security agencies must focus on preventing attacks at home and prevent IS attempts to recruit followers during a visit to the Pentagon.

He said it was difficult for security agencies to prevent small-scale attacks by "lone wolves" on US soil, despite success at preventing larger scale attacks since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

But he insisted there were no current plans to send more US troops overseas, and said moderate Syrian rebels needed training and equipping to combat the extremists.

He said: "This will not be quick. This is a long-term campaign. It will take time to root them out, and doing so must be the job of local forces on the ground with training and air support from our coalition.

"We continue to accelerate the delivery of critical equipment, including anti-tank weapons, to Iraqi security forces.

"And I have made it clear to my team that we will do more to train and equip the moderate opposition in Syria."

On small-scale attacks in the US, he added: "We're going to have to pick up our game to prevent these attacks."

Mr Obama said US attempts to counter extremism and prevent recruitment must not single out Muslim Americans or any faith group.

He said: "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 US."

Mr Obama met more than 30 officials and national security advisers during his rare visit to the Pentagon.

Last August the US led an international airstrike operation on key IS positions within Iraq and Syria. So far there have been around 5,000 strikes.