Obama: ‘Absolutely no ceasefire’ in ISIS fight

President Obama on Saturday vowed that America’s military would continue grinding down the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) until it no longer exists.

“There will be absolutely no ceasefire in our fight against ISIL,” he said in his weekly address, using an alternate acronym for the terrorist group. “We’ll remain relentless.

{mosads}“Beyond Syria and Iraq, we continue to use the full range of our tools to go after ISIL wherever it tries to take root, as we showed with our strike on an ISIL training camp in Libya,” Obama continued. 

“With partners around the world, we’ll continue discrediting the ideology that ISIL uses to radicalize, recruit and inspire people to violence, especially online.”

Obama promised scores of merciless cuts against ISIS that would ultimately obliterate the extremist group over time. 

“Our 66-nation coalition, including our Arab partners, continues to grow stronger,” he said. “More nations are making contributions. 

“Every day, our air campaign – more than 10,000 strikes so far – continues to destroy ISIL forces. And we continue to go after ISIL leaders and commanders – taking them out, day in, day out, one after another after another.” 

Obama additionally touted a cessation of hostilities in Syria’s civil war as another development that would stall ISIS’s momentum.

“The only way to deal ISIL a lasting defeat is to end the civil war and chaos in Syria upon which ISIL thrives,” he said. “A cessation of hostilities in the civil war is expected to take effect this weekend. 

“All parties must end attacks, including aerial bombardment,” the president added. “Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach areas under siege.

“Much will depend on whether the Syrian regime, Russia and their allies live up to their commitments. The coming hours and days will be critical, and the world is watching.”

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have long clashed over resolving Syria’s sectarian strife. 

Russia supports Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, while the Obama White House believes the embattled head of state must step down.

A temporary halt in fighting between pro-Assad forces and rebel factions takes effect Saturday and could pause the brutal conflict that has raged since 2011.