President Obama: IS is losing ground but still a threat

President Obama: IS is losing ground but still a threat

US President Barack Obama has spoken of the difficulties in fighting against the so-called Islamic State, as he gave a briefing to the press on the latest developments in the campaign against the group.

The President said that while IS is expected to lose its strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, the group was still able to carry out attacks overseas.

"In Syria and Iraq, ISIL continues to lose territory," he told reporters. "Tragically, however, we have also seen that ISIL still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks.

"It is still very difficult to detect and prevent lone actors or small cells of terrorists who are determined to kill the innocent and are willing to die."

His comments come after high-profile terrorist attacks in Iraq, Germany, France, and several other countries.

President Obama said that the US campaign against IS will continue to be aggressive across "all fronts", saying that the group had not had a "major successful operation…in a full year."

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about Syria during a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at the Prime Minister’s office in Stockholm, Sweden September 4, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (SWEDEN — Tags: POLITICS) — RTX1371S