S surveillance planes fly over Syria

The US has begun surveillance flights over Syria after President Barack Obama gave the OK, US officials said, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against Islamic State militant targets there. While the White House says Obama has not approved military action inside Syria, additional intelligence on the militants would likely be necessary before he could take that step. Pentagon officials have been drafting potential options for the president, including airstrikes. One official said the administration has a need for reliable intelligence from Syria and called the surveillance flights an important avenue for obtaining data. Two US officials said Monday that Obama had approved the flights, while another US official said early Tuesday that they had begun. The officials were not authorised to discuss the matter by name, and spoke only on condition of anonymity. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday that the US wants more clarity on the militants in Syria, but declined to comment on the surveillance flights, according to AP.