Obama says he 'has authority' to widen IS fight

President Barack Obama has said that he has the authority to widen military action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria without the approval of Congress.

He will still ask Congress to approve the arming of Syrian opposition forces.

Mr Obama is due to give a speech on Wednesday night in which he will outline his anti-IS strategy.

IS militants have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq in recent months and have declared a "caliphate".

In the past month, IS militants have beheaded two US journalists in protest against American airstrikes on its forces in Iraq.

Mr Obama discussed his anti-IS strategy with leaders from both parties at the White House on Tuesday. A spokesman said the talks were "productive".

The meeting with Congressional leaders came a year after lawmakers blocked Mr Obama's previous plans for missile strikes against Syria.

Mr Obama has ruled out the possibility of a US ground operation against IS but has signalled he may expand airstrikes to include Syria.

"Over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of [IS]," he said on Sunday. "We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities; we're going to shrink the territory that they control; and, ultimately, we're going to defeat them."

At the White House on Tuesday, he met Democrats Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Republicans John Boehner, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.

The White House said Mr Obama had told the congressional leaders he welcomed action from Congress in support of the effort and pledged "continuing extensive consultation".

But Mr Obama's aides suggested he would not seek new authorisation from Congress for military action.

"The president told the leaders that he has the authority he needs to take action against [IS] in accordance with the mission he will lay out in his address tomorrow night," the White House said.

Mr Boehner, one of Mr Obama's chief political adversaries, told the president he would back a US military deployment to train and advise the Iraqi security forces and assist in the targeting of IS leaders, an aide to the House speaker said in a statement to the BBC.

(BBC News)

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