Local Editor

The so-called "Daesh" [ISIL] militants in Iraq and Syria now have about 20,000 to 31,500 militants on the ground, the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] revealed on Thursday, one day after US President Barack Obama vowed to expand an offensive against Daesh.

Among those in Syria are 15,000 foreign fighters including 2,000 Westerners, some of whom have joined Daesh, a US intelligence official said.

The CIA has almost tripled that of a previous estimate of 10,000.

The figures were revealed one day after Obama vowed to expand an offensive against Daesh extremists, a plan which foresees new air strikes against the group in Syria and expanded attacks in Iraq.

CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said in a statement, "CIA assesses ISIL can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria, based on a new review of all-source intelligence reports from May to August."

"This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a [so-called] "caliphate," greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence," he said.

Moreover, senior US officials have voiced concern at the presence of foreign fighters among the extremists who hold Western passports, potentially enabling them to return from the battlefield prepared to carry out terror attacks in Europe or the United States.

The White House has insisted that Obama is authorized to strike Daesh in Iraq and Syria under a law passed by Congress after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
However Obama learned on Thursday that he may have a wait on his hands before Congress signs off on his plan to train and equip Syrian "moderate" rebels, a key plank in his strategy to destroy Daesh.

Also on Thursday, the Pentagon announced that US combat aircraft will soon start flying out of a base in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq as part of a "more aggressive" air campaign against Daesh.
The use of Arbil air base reflects the broadening US offensive, though attack helicopters already have been flying out of bases in Iraq.

The announcement meanwhile came on the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States-- a day that fell, in a trace of bitter irony, only hours after Obama's remarks steeling Americans for a battle against extremism in the Middle East.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team