President Obama indirectly attributed the terrorist attack in Istanbul that killed at least 41 people to the Islamic State, and repeated his vow to defeat the extremist group.
After offering his “deepest condolences” to the people of Turkey, he said the attack is “an indication of how little these vicious organizations have to offer beyond killing innocents.”
“They’re continually losing ground, unable to govern those areas that they have taken over,” he said. “They’re going to be defeated in Syria. They’re going to be defeated in Iraq.”
“We will not rest until we have dismantled these networks of hate that have had an impact on the entire civilized world,” he added.
The president made the remarks in Ottawa while attending the kick-off of the North American Leaders Summit, where he joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for talks focused on clean energy and climate change.
Earlier Wednesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters he had no official U.S. assessment on who is responsible for the attacks.
Three suicide bombers opened fire before blowing themselves up at the international airport in Istanbul Tuesday. The Islamic State has not claimed responsibility, but Turkish authorities suspect the extremist terrorist group is behind the massacre.
