Eradicating Islamic State will not be easy : Obama

Washington. Aug 27 (Reuters): US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that wiping out a radical group like the Islamic State will not be easy an easy task.
The president made the comment as he authorised surveillance flights over Syria, a move seen as a precursor to step up US efforts in the war-torn country to combat the Islamic State, including possible air strikes on its targets, Xinhua reported.
"Rooting out a cancer like IS won't be easy, and it won't be quick," he said in a speech delivered at the annual convention of the American Legion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He once again ruled out sending back US combat troops to Iraq, where US warplanes are continuing their air raids on the Islamic State targets, which was launched Aug 8.
"Let me say it again, US combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq," he said.
"We'll not allow the US to be dragged back into another ground war in Iraq," he added.
Meanwhile: Islamic State militants have executed Syrian army soldiers and are holding a group of them hostage after capturing an air base in northeast Syria at the weekend, pictures posted on the Internet and on Twitter by supporters showed on Wednesday.
Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, stormed Tabqa air base near Raqqa city on Sunday after days of fighting with the army that cost more than 500 lives, according to monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Tabqa was the army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by the militants, who have seized large areas of Syria and Iraq. The United States has carried out air strikes on the group in Iraq and is studying its options in Syria.
In one picture posted online, a group of militants in balaclavas are seen gunning down at least seven kneeling men identified as army personnel. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the authenticity of the images or when exactly they were taken.