‘IS militants biggest threat to US’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) might of Islamic State militants pose a major threat to the United States that may surpass that of al-Qaeda, US military leaders said on Thursday.
hey are an imminent threat to every interest we have whether it s in Ira or anywhere else efense ecretary huck agel told reporters at the entagon about the militant group which has sei ed a third of Ira and released a video this week showing one of its fighters beheading an American hostage
Asked if Islamic tate posed a threat to the comparable to that of the at tacks of ept agel said the group was as so phisticated and well funded as any group we have seen
hey are beyond ust a terrorist group hey marry ideology a sophistication of military prowess hey are tremendously well fund ed his is beyond anything we ve seen
eneral Martin empsey chairman of the oint hiefs of taff said the group could pose a direct threat to estern countries through the return of uro pean or nationals to their home countries after having fought in yria or Ira
empsey also said the Is lamic tate group cannot be defeated unless the or its partners take on the unni militants in yria
his is an organi ation that has an apocalyptic end of days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated empsey said in his most expansive public remarks on the crisis since American air strikes began in Ira
Meanwhile the parents of ames oley released on hursday an e mail from his captors dated Aug in which the militants proclaimed with strident bombast that he would be the first of many Americans
to die
GlobalPost the news web site that had employed ol ey and helped his parents seek his release for the past two years published the full text of the e mail from the Islamic tate which called it a message to the Ameri can government and their sheep like citi ens
GlobalPost said however that the family had heard nothing from the captors for more than a year before receiving a demand for a ransom of million