Preisdent Obama rules out sending US ground troops to confront Isis 'face of evil'

The US president the US intended to continue with its current strategy to deal with the Islamic militants

Barack Obama ruled out sending in ground troops to confront Isis (Reuters)

Barack Obama has described Isis as “the face of evil” but ruled out dispatching large numbers of US ground troops to confront them. At times sounding somewhat testy, he insisted on Monday that his strategy for confronting the miliant group - however unpopular it may be - was working.

“We need to be doing everything we can to protect against more attacks and protect our people,” said the US president, speaking at a news conference in Antalya, Turkey.

Speaking at the G20 summit, he added: “The terrible events in Paris were obviously a terrible and sickening setback. Even as we grieve with our French friends, however, we can't lose sight that there has been progress being made.”

Mr Obama faced a barrage of questions about his strategy for tackling the extremist group, including one from a CNN reporter who asked 'why can't take out these b**tards'?

Mr Obama said there had been many suggestions made in the aftermath of Friday’s attacks that left at least 129 people dead as to how the US should respond. He said most suggestions related to tactics the US had already adopted.

Nepalese people take part in a candle light vigil for the victims of the deadly attacks in Paris, in Kathmandu

But he said the one suggestion he had rejected, after consulting with his military and civilian leaders, was the dispatch of large numbers of US ground troops.

“It’s not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqah,” said Mr Obama, who last month authorised the deployment of 50 special forces 'advisers' to Syria.

“But because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before, which is if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface, unless we’re prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries.”

He added: “It’s not an abstraction. When you send in troops, they get injured, they get killed. It’s important that we don’t shoot first and aim later. It’s important to get the strategy right.”

Earlier, in Turkey, world leaders had promised to tighten border controls, step up intelligence sharing and crack down on terrorist financing.

Reuters said the summit was dominated by the attacks on Paris, and brought together leaders that included Russia's Vladimir Putin.

“The horrific attacks in Paris on Friday night, so soon after the Russian airline disaster and following on from the Ankara bombings and the attacks in Tunisia and Lebanon, they underline the threat we all face,” British Prime Minister David Cameron told a news conference.

“We have agreed to take further important steps to cut off the financing that terrorists rely on, to counter the extremist ideology of the terrorist propaganda and to better protect ourselves from the threat of foreign fighters by sharing intelligence and stopping them from traveling.”

Concerned about the "acute and growing flow of foreign terrorist fighters", G20 leaders said in a statement they had agreed to step up border controls and aviation security. They condemned the Paris attacks as "heinous" and said they remained committed to tackling terrorist financing.