MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A US-led coalition of over 60 nations managed to stop the offensive of Islamic State (ISIL) militants in Syria and Iraq, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director said Sunday.
"Clearly ISIS's [ISIL] momentum inside of Iraq and Syria has been blunted, and it has been stopped. So they are not on the march as they were several months ago," John Brennan said in an interview with Fox News.
However, Brennan admitted that the scale of the problem suggests further military action by the coalition.
“This is something that clearly is not just restricted to Iraq and Syria. So we cannot relent,” he stated.
The ISIL has conquered vast territories in Iraq and Syria. The group also has affiliates in Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The US-led international coalition is carrying out airstrikes against Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria, while the two countries' government forces, as well as allied militias and Kurdish forces, fight the IS and other extremists on the ground.
