Obama To Set Out Plans To Tackle IS Threat

President Barack Obama is due to set out his strategy for combating Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria in a nationally televised speech.

The highly anticipated address will be broadcast from the State Floor of the White House at 9pm (local time), timed to coincide with primetime TV.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to meet with Iraq's new leaders including Prime Minister Haider al Abadi.

Mr Kerry pledged the United States' continued support for eliminating the extremist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

The killings of Steven Sotloff and James Foley have hardened US opinions

He did not reveal details of Mr Obama's plan, but did announce that the US will provide another $48m (£29.8m) to UN agencies and other aid organisations to help ease the suffering of 1.8 million people who have been displaced by IS militants.

"The United States and the world will simply not stand by and watch as ISIL's evil spreads," Mr Kerry said.

IS has been on the warpath in Iraq and Syria, taking large swathes of territory and putting US lives at risk, according the White House.

In the last few weeks, IS has released videos of its militants beheading kidnapped American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Until recently, Mr Obama has been accused of not having a clear plan about how to deal with the militants.

President Obama met senior Republicans to discuss strategy on IS

The president has already ruled out "boots on the ground", but it has been hinted that special forces could be used and airstrikes could be intensified.

The US has already conducted more than 150 airstrikes in northern and western Iraq in the last month at the request of the Iraqi government.

One of the key questions that remains is whether Mr Obama is prepared to launch airstrikes within Syrian territory.

The US supports a change of government in Syria and there are many uncertainties over the consequences of launching military action in a country that is not allied to America.

On Tuesday, the president met congressional leaders in a bid to arrange a united front.

Sky's US Correspondent Dominic Waghorn said: "The president's officials have been shuttling between the White House and Capitol Hill in the days ahead of this announcement trying to keep Congress informed and on side."

Islamic State have taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria

"They can be far more confident of congressional support this time around and there's been a dramatic shift in public opinion too with opinion polls showing that more than two thirds of Americans support more airstrikes."

In an interview broadcast on Sunday as part of NBC's Meet The Press, Mr Obama said that he preferred not to go after IS alone and was making efforts to build an international coalition.

To that end, Mr Kerry met with officials in Jordan on Tuesday and is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia after his stop in Iraq for a meeting with leaders from across the Middle East.

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