AKIPRESS.COM - United States President Barack Obama ordered a “relentless” war against the Islamic State, including air strikes in Syria and expanded operations in Iraq to “destroy” the marauding jihadist army.

Obama — the president who hoped to go down in history for ending wars, not starting an open-ended escalation in the Middle East — also pledged to bolster Iraqi forces and to increase military assistance to Syria's opposition.

In a somber, measured prime-time televised address, Obama said the Islamic State, which has beheaded two US journalists and seized a swathe of land in Iraq and Syria, was a uniquely brutal group even by the blood-soaked standards of the Middle East, AFP reports.

“They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape and force women into marriage,” he said. Such barbarity could occasion only one response, Obama said.

“Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy,” Obama said, steeling his nation for a new foreign war.

“I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq,” he said, using an alternative acronym for the self-declared Islamic State.

“This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven. “A senior US official left no doubt that Obama's words represented an order for military operations in Syria, despite his long-held reluctance to get embroiled in the country's civil war.

“There will be action in Syria,” the official said, but declined to say when the first strikes would take place. “We are not going to telegraph our punches. “A senior defense official added: “The US military is ready to conduct direct action against ISIL targets in Syria.