Continuing
his spirited campaign against the destruction of the Islamic State of Syria and
the Levant (ISIL), United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned the
terror outfit that they will never be safe until they stop targeting America
and its allies.
Addressing
the media after his meeting with the National Security Council, Obama said that
the meeting was planned before the Orlando attack, but that tragedy shaped much
of their work today.
"Those
who died and are still recovering, who have seen their loved ones harmed, our
LGBT friends who were targeted, I want to remind them that they are not alone.
The American people and our allies and friends all over the world stand with
you and are thinking about you and are praying for you," he said.
Talking
about the Orlando shootout, the President said that his administration
currently did not have any information to indicate that a foreign terrorist
group directed the attack, but added that it was increasingly clear, that the
killer took in extremist information and propaganda over the internet.
"He
appears to be an angry, disturbed, unstable young man who became radicalised.
ISIL has called on people from all over the world and here in the United States
to attack innocent civilians. Their propaganda, videos, postings are pervasive
and more easily accessible than we want. This individual appears to have
absorbed some of that and during his killing spree, the shooter in Orlando
pledged his allegiance to ISIL," he said.
Reiterating
his government's objective to destroy ISIL, the President said that his
administration was making significant progress in this regard and had taken out
many of ISIL's top leaders and cut off their funding.
"Our
B52 bombers are hitting ISIL with precision. So far 13,000 airstrikes. ISIL is
under more pressure than ever before, as it continues to lose key leaders. We
have taken out more than 120 top ISIL leaders and commanders. Our message is
clear: if you target America and its allies you will not be safe, you will
never be safe," Obama said.
Further
talking about his government's accomplishments in the war against ISIL, he
added that the organisation has lost nearly half of its controlled territory in
Iraq and continues to lose ground in Syria as well.
"ISIL
continues to lose money that is its lifeblood. We believe we have cut ISIL's
revenue through oil and destroyed their storage where they keep their cash,
which has reduced them to thievery and extortion. They are not religious
warriors, they are thugs and thieves. ISIL's ranks are shrinking, their morale
is sinking," he added.
Advocating
for stricter gun laws, the President asserted that if tragedies like Orlando
and San Bernandino are to be avoided, then it has to be made harder for those
who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war.
"We
cannot prevent every tragedy, but there are common sense steps that can reduce
gun violence and could reduce the lethality of somebody who intends to do other
people harm. People with possible ties to terrorism, who aren't allowed on a
plane shouldn't be allowed to buy a gun. Enough talking about being tough on
terrorism... actually be tough on terrorism. And stop making it easy for
terrorists to buy assault weapons," Obama said.
Representative Image
Source: ANI
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