Obama rules out US troops on the ground to fight ISIS

Antalya: Describing the Islamic State as "the face of evil", US President Barack Obama today admitted that deadly attacks in Paris were a "terrible and sickening setback" in the fight against the dreaded outfit but ruled out sending American troops into Syria for ground combat.

In the same breath, he said not allowing Syrian refugees into the US would betray American values. Speaking at a news conference following G20 leaders' Summit here, Obama said US will continue working with other countries on a coordinated strategy to destroy the Islamic State without US combat troops.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility of the Friday's attacks in Paris which killed 129 people and injured 350 others.

"Not because our military could not march into Syria" or Iraq and "temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we have seen before. If you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, then they resurface," he said.

Obama said US can presumably send 50,000 troops into Syria. "What happens when there is a terrorist attack generated from Yemen? Do we then send more troops into there?" he questioned.

The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria would redouble efforts to implement its current strategy rather than moving in a new direction, he said.

He said Paris killings were a "terrible and sickening setback" in the fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh. But he insisted that the American-led strategy to "degrade and destroy" the militant group is working.

"ISIS is the face of evil. Our goal is to destroy this barbaric organisation. Ruling out troops on ground as it would not help solve the terrorism problem. We have the right strategy and we are going to see it through", he said.

The US President said military advisers have told him that ground troops "would be a mistake". "It is not just my view, but the view of my closest military and civilian advisers, that (boots on the ground) would be a mistake," he said.