Obama vows to destroy ISIS, calls California tragedy a terror act
Highlights
US President Barack Obama described the mass shooting in California an \"act of terrorism\" in an address to the nation four days after the carnage left 14 dead.
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Washington: US President Barack Obama described the mass shooting in California an "act of terrorism" in an address to the nation four days after the carnage left 14 dead.President Obama said the Muslim couple who mounted the attack "had gone down the dark path of radicalization, embracing a perverted interpretation of Islam that calls for war against America and the West."
"They had stockpiled assault weapons, ammunition and pipe bombs. So this was an act of terrorism," he said in the rare televised primetime address to the nation, only the third he has delivered from the White House Oval Office.
The US President also vowed to "destroy" the Islamic State group, branding its fighters "thugs and killers".
"The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it," he said, adding, "We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us."
Muslims must confront 'extremist ideology'
President Barack Obama urged Muslims Sunday to confront the "extremist ideology" in its midst and ally with the West in combating the Islamic State group.
"We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam," Obama said in a rare televised address from the Oval Office following the California attacks.
"That does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some Muslim communities. It's a real problem that Muslims must confront without excuse."
Renewed call for stricter gun controls
President Barack Obama called Sunday for tougher gun controls in the wake of the California shootings, starting with a ban on gun purchases for anyone on a US government no-fly list.
"To begin with, Congress should act to make sure no one on a no-fly list is able to buy a gun," Obama said in a rare televised address from the Oval Office.
"What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semiautomatic weapon? This is a matter of national security."
US will not be dragged into ground war in Iraq, Syria
Obama reiterated Sunday that the United States would not be pulled into a protracted ground war in Syria or Iraq, even as it steps up the fight against the Islamic State group.
"We should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in Iraq and Syria. That's what groups like ISIL want," Obama said in a rare televised address from the Oval Office following the California mass shooting.
Obama urges tech companies to help stop 'terrorists'
Obama said that he would enlist the help of high-tech firms as the United States steps up the fight against the Islamic State group.
"I will urge high-tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice," Obama vowed in an address to the nation following the California mass shooting.
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