Pentagon: Airstrikes not enough to stop ISIS

Originally published in CBN News

The airstrikes against the Islamic State might be slowing down the Islamic terrorist group, but US military leadership says it’s not enough to stop them.

Reuters reports ISIS has seized more than a third of the Syrian border town of Kobani.

The Pentagon press secretary stated that airstrikes aren’t enough – and competent ground forces are needed to successfully retake territory.

“We don’t have a willing, capable, effective partner on the ground inside Syria. It’s just a fact. I can’t change that,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters Wednesday.

The Obama administration insisted again that the ground forces will not be American.

- Advertisement -

“Our strikes continue alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission. As I’ve indicated from the start, it is not something that is going to be solved overnight,” President Barack Obama said in a briefing with the Pentagon.

Some in the administration have downplayed the importance of this one town.

But according to Time.com, “If the ISIS militants take control of Kobani, they will have a huge strategic corridor along the Turkish border, linking with the terrorist group’s positions in Aleppo to the west and Raqqa to the east.”

Meanwhile, the FBI said they’ve received tips about the identity of an masked executioner shown in ISIS propaganda videos.

Click to join movement

FBI Director James Comey said tracking down the dozen Americans recruited by ISIS is a top priority.