Obama vows Syria air strikes to destroy Islamic State

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to strike the "Islamic State" in Syria and to expand operations in Iraq, seizing command of an international coalition to destroy the jihadist army.

Obama, who wants history to remember him as the president who ended a decade of foreign wars, launched a major new escalation in the Middle East, also pledging to bolster Iraqi forces and to increase military assistance to Syria's opposition.