Obama warns of Daesh sleeper cells in the US

US President Barack Obama says Daesh (ISIL) terrorists are losing ground in Syria and Iraq, but the United States will continue its campaign "aggressively" against them.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday, Obama said Daesh will “inevitably” be defeated, but the situation is complex, and cannot be solved by military force alone.

Obama also warned of the existence of Daesh sleeper cells in the US and says the possibility of further terrorist attacks in the country is real.

The US president said the terrorist group is on the decline in Syria and Iraq which appears to be triggering attacks elsewhere.

Obama also said ISIL "has not had a major successful offensive operation in either Syria or Iraq in a full year."

"We'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out ... in other words, ISIL turns out not to be invincible. They are, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated," he said.

"As we have seen, it is difficult to prevent small cells of terrorists willing to kill the innocent and (who) are willing to die. We will keep going after them aggressively across every front of this campaign," he said.

Daesh terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, still control parts of Iraq and Syria. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in areas under their control.

US warplanes have been conducting airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq since August of 2014. Some Western states have also participated in some of the strikes in Iraq.

Since September 2014, the US and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out airstrikes against Daesh inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The US-led coalition has done little to stop Daesh's advances in parts of Syria and in Iraq.

Some analysts have criticized the US-led military campaign, saying the strikes are only meant to benefit US weapons manufacturers.

In September of last year, Russia launched its own air offensive against the terrorists who were still wreaking havoc in Syria. The Russian campaign, analysts say, has broken the backbone of ISIL and other militants.

Obama said on Thursday the US prepared to work with Russia to strengthen efforts against ISIL, al-Qaeda in Syria, but “time for Russia to show that it is serious.”

"The US remains prepared to work with Russia to try to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Syria. But Russia has failed to take the necessary steps. Given the deteriorating situation, it is time for Russia to show it is serious about pursuing these objectives," he said.

Since March 2011, the United States and its regional allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, have been conducting a proxy war against Syria.

The conflict has left more than 470,000 Syrians dead and half of the country’s population of about 23 million displaced within or beyond the Arab country’s borders.

MG