ISIS could hold swath from northern Syria to the gates of Baghdad

The Islamist extremists appear set to take a key Syrian town along the Turkish border and an entire province on Baghdad's doorstep.

Leaders in Iraq's Anbar province pleaded for U.S. ground troops to halt the group's rapid, relentless assault.

On Sunday, the leader of U.S. military efforts to fight ISIS in Iraq says the terror group came within 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of the Baghdad airport.

Offering what appeared to be previously unreported details, Gen. Martin Dempsey told ABC's "This Week" that the United States had to risk bringing in low-flying attack helicopters to keep ISIS at bay.

"The tool that was immediately available was the Apache (helicopter). The risk of operating in a hostile environment is there constantly," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

"You're not going to wait until they're climbing over the wall," Dempsey said. "Had (ISIS forces) overrun the Iraqi unit, it was a straight shot to the Baghdad airport. So, we're not going to let that happen."

ISIS, the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" which also is referred to as ISIL, controls about 80% of the province, said Anbar Provincial Council president Sabah Al-Karhout.

Reports suggest the militants have encircled Haditha, the last large town in Anbar not yet in ISIS' hands.

In a major setback, Gen. Ahmed Saddak, the police chief of Anbar province, was killed over the weekend in a roadside bomb that targeted his convoy, officials said.

Should all of Anbar fall, the Sunni extremists would rule from the perimeter of Iraq's capital to Raqqa in Syria, at least, according to the provincial council's deputy head, Falleh al-Issawi.

They would control a swath 350 miles (563 kilometers) long.

'U.S. will not deploy'

Iraqi army forces and Anbar tribesmen fighting alongside them have threatened to abandon their weapons if the U.S. military does not intervene, al-Issawi said.

The army soldiers lack training and equipment, he said. Already, some 1,800 tribesmen in the province have been killed or injured in the struggle.

But the Iraqi government has been adamant that it does not want U.S. forces on the ground, and U.S. President Barack Obama has not shown any intent to deploy any.

The Iraqi government said it has not received any official request from Anbar province for U.S. ground forces to help in the fight, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's media office said.

A U.S. defense official has said that Iraq's government hasn't asked for any more American troops beyond those already in Iraq.

And if they did, the official added, "The U.S. will not deploy combat ground forces to Iraq. And we remain focused on enabling the (Iraqi military) in the fight against ISIL through our advise/assist efforts and the air campaign."

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice echoed that comment Sunday, and said that Turkey would allow the United States and its partners to use bases and territory to train.

"They have said that their facilities inside Turkey can be used by coalition forces, American and otherwise, to engage in activities inside Iraq and Syria," she told NBC's "Meet The Press."

"That's a new commitment and one that we very much welcome," she said.

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'Full control' of Baghdad

The U.S. and its allies conducted at least nine airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria on Saturday and early Sunday, according to the U.S. military.

A coalition airstrike Saturday killed more than 30 suspected ISIS militants in Iraq who were in an armed convoy west of Ramadi, city police Capt. Bahjat al-Hamdani said.

Despite the air campaign, ISIS has expanded its reach.

In Iraq, ISIS has dispatched as many as 10,000 fighters to Anbar province from Syria and Mosul in northern Iraq, an Anbar official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has acknowledged the dire situation, telling reporters that "Anbar province is in trouble. We know that."

But officials said Baghdad is not likely to be the next domino to fall. "Iraqi security forces are in full control of Baghdad," Hagel said.

Warning of a massacre in Kobani

ISIS is still advancing in Syria, where it emerged during the years-long civil war. Its current focus there is Kobani, a Kurdish enclave a stone's throw from Turkey.

And the militants are gradually taking control of a large chunk of Kobani.

On Sunday, Kobani fell eerily silent after clashes earlier in the day, a fighter in the city told CNN. He said he fears ISIS is planning a major assault.

One day earlier, ISIS fighters clashed with local troops over the official border crossing into Turkey at Mursitpinar.

At least 36 ISIS militants died Saturday in various battles in Kobani against Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units, or YPG, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement Sunday. Eight Kurdish fighters were killed.

Oil and crime make ISIS rich

Should they take it, the militants would control three official border crossings between Turkey and Syria and a stretch of the border about 60 miles (97 kilometers) long.

Inside Kobani, a civilian said things are worse than ever; the people are forced to endure mortar fire and fear being beheaded should ISIS take over.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, said such brutality may become a reality.

"The 12,000 civilians ... will be most likely massacred," he said.

Homeland concerns

Meanwhile, there's fresh concern about potential attacks by homegrown terrorists and lone wolves inspired by ISIS.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a security bulletin, two law enforcement officials told CNN. It warns the FBI, other law enforcement personnel and members of the news media that they could be targeted by ISIS, the sources said.

The bulletin cites increased chatter in recent weeks on social media and extremist forums for the warning. It was also based on information from recent crackdowns on alleged ISIS members and sympathizers in the United Kingdom and Australia, the sources said.

The officials tell CNN the bulletin is precautionary -- warning law enforcement to be extra vigilant -- and is not based on any known specific threats.

Source: By Chandrika Narayan, Ben Wedeman and Laura Smith-Spark, cnn.com, Re-posted by Abdulgafar Abdulrauf Adio (www.econsforumnews.blogspot.com)