Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s new prime minister, said in an interview that foreign ground troops are neither necessary nor wanted in the fight against the Islamic State militants who have taken over large swathes of the country, AP reports.
Prime Minister Abadi also stated that he hopes the international community will expand the campaign against extremists to neighboring Syria, according to AP.
Extremists from the Islamic State have been terrorizing Iraqi citizens since June when they took control of multiple Iraqi cities in a major offensive. The U.S. has conducted air strikes in Iraq but has yet to deploy troops.
