Obama to meet National Security Council on Syria and Iraq

US President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet on Friday with his National Security Council at the White House to discuss the situations in Syria and Iraq, a State Department official announced.

Anadolu news agency quoted State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki as saying that the council will discuss the US’s efforts to assist the Iraqi government in its war against the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS.

However, Psaki pointed out that it is unlikely the president will issue any immediate new decisions as a result of the meeting.

The White House had announced earlier in the day that President Obama is scheduled to meet with senior national security advisers to discuss the challenges posed by the Islamic State and the situations in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, American media quoted on Wednesday unnamed American officials as saying that Obama “granted permission to organise reconnaissance flights over the Syrian territory to gather intelligence on the Islamic State”.

Analysts believe the exploratory sorties are a prelude to possible air raids against the organisation’s sites in Syria. The US has been waging similar attacks in Iraq for several weeks.