US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says Islamic State group
has an "apocalyptic" vision and that it must be defeated.

The sophistication, wealth and military might of the Islamic
State group represents a major threat to the United States
that may surpass that once posed by al-Qaeda, US military
leaders have said.

"They are an imminent threat to every interest we
have, whether it's in Iraq or anywhere else," Defence
Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon.

Hagel's assessment of Islamic State, which gained
strength during Syria's civil war and swept into northern Iraq earlier this summer, sounded a note of alarm several days after the group posted a video on social media showing one of its fighters beheading an American journalist who had been kidnapped in Syria.

Asked if the group posed a threat to the United States
comparable to that of the attacks of September 11, 2001,
Hagel said it was "as sophisticated and well-funded as any
group we have seen."

"They are beyond just a terrorist group. They
marry ideology, a sophistication of ... military prowess. They
are tremendously well-funded. This is beyond anything
we've seen."

Hagel spoke as the United States continued attacking
Islamic State targets in Iraq. In the past two weeks, US
drones and fighter jets have conducted 89 airstrikes against
the group's targets in northern Iraq.

So far, US President Barack Obama has sought to limit
his renewed military campaign in Iraq to protecting
American diplomats and civilians under direct threat.
Obama ended the war in Iraq that killed thousands of
American soldiers and consumed US foreign policy for
nearly a decade,

Even after the gruesome killing of US journalist James Foley,
Obama is seen as unlikely to deepen his near-term military
involvement in either Iraq or Syria as he seeks to avoid
becoming embroiled in another messy Middle Eastern
conflict, Reuters news agency reported.

But US officials say they have not ruled out
escalating military action against the Islamic State group,
which has increased its overt threats against the United
States since the air campaign in Iraq began.

'End-of-days vision'

"We haven't made a decision to take additional actions
at this time, but we truly don't rule out additional action
against ISIL if it becomes warranted," Ben Rhodes, a senior
Obama aide, told National Public Radio earlier on Thursday,
using another name for the group.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said officials were worried about the possibility that
European or US nationals, radicalised after fighting in
Iraq or Syria, would return to their home countries.
Dempsey suggested the group would remain a danger
until it could no longer count on safe havens in areas of
Syria under rebel control.

"This is an organisation that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days
strategic vision and which will eventually have to be
defeated," Dempsey said.

"To your question, can they be defeated without
addressing that part of their organisation which resides in
Syria? The answer is no. That will have to be addressed on
both sides of what is essentially at this point a non-existent
border."

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