Barely days after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) posted a video online showing the beheading of an American journalist, James Foley, the United States government has stepped up jets and drones attacks on the militant group in Iraq and is contemplating sending more troops to the region.
Although militants had declared that the act was carried out in retaliation against U.S.-backed operation in Iraq, yet the administration has refused to retreat.
In a statement released from Martha Vineyard, President Barack Obama vowed to continue the war and called for vigilant and relentless efforts across the Middle East to wipe out the group completely before it spreads. He also said that the video of Foley's beheading shocks the conscience.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department said on Wednesday that the U.S. jets have conducted another 14 strikes near the strategic Mosul Dam which was recently reclaimed by Kurdish forces from ISIS.
The U.S. is also planning to send more forces to Iraq to provide additional security in and around Baghdad at the request of the State Department, said a senior official. He added that the pentagon is considering sending fewer than 300 military personnel but no final decision has been taken yet.
This was the first time that an American citizen was killed since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011 and is being read as a declaration of war on America by ISIS. Military analysts and U.S. lawmakers believe that the incident was a wake-up call to the need to destroy the militant organization.