14 April 2016•Update: 22 April 2016
By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
Daesh is on the defensive, U.S. President Barack Obama said during a rare visit to CIA headquarters Wednesday, noting the anti-Daesh coalition’s commitment to keep up the momentum it has gained.
"Today on the ground in Syria and Iraq, ISIL is on the defensive. Our 66-member coalition, including Arab partners, is on the offensive," Obama said following his meeting with CIA and national security leaders in Langley, Virginia, using an alternate name for the group. "We have momentum and we intend to keep that momentum".
American leader’s comments came after the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that the coalition has completed the first phase of the Daesh war, namely degrading the terrorist group’s ability to move freely within Iraq and Syria and act like a conventional army.
According to Warren, in the second phase the coalition will dismantle the group and destroy it.
Obama also mentioned recent coalition efforts to target Daesh’s supply routes and the group’s key leaders.
"For ISIL's leadership, it has been a bad few months," Obama said. "Every day, ISIL leaders wake up and understand it could be their last".
He added that Daesh’s core in Syria and Iraq continues to shrink and the “ranks of fighters are estimated to be at the lowest levels in about two years".
"We're sending a message: If you target Americans, you have no safe haven. We will find you," he said.
It was the third visit that Obama has paid to CIA headquarters since taking office in 2009.
According to the White House, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice were among officials who attended the meeting centered on efforts to defeat Daesh.
His visit came just ahead of his travel next week to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a summit on Daesh.
Obama said that a political transition in Syria would also be on the agenda in Riyadh.
He reiterated that Syria's political future must not include current President Bashar al-Assad.
