Obama orders air strikes in Syria against IS

President Barack Obama told Americans on Wednesday he had authorised US air strikes for the first time in Syria and more attacks in Iraq in a broad escalation of a campaign against the militants of Islamic State (IS). Obama’s decision to launch attacks inside Syria, which is embroiled in a 3-year civil war, marked a turnabout for the president, who shied away a year ago from air strikes to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons against his own people. In a widely anticipated, 13-minute White House speech, Obama said he would hunt down Islamic State militants ‘wherever they are’ in a drive to degrade and ultimately destroy the group, which has seized broad stretches of Iraq and Syria. ‘That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven,’ he said, speaking on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Obama asked Congress to authorise $ 500 million to train and arm ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels. The training would take place in Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.