We'll defeat 'Islamic terrorism'

President Donald Trump has vowed that America and its allies would defeat the "forces of death" and keep radical jihadists from gaining a foothold on US soil, but did not offer details about his strategy to defeat the Islamic State group.

In his first visit to US Central Command -- responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia -- Trump also did not say whether he would scrap parts of the anti-IS mission in Iraq and Syria undertaken by his predecessor Barack Obama.

"Today, we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction -- America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them," he told about 300 military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

"We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow it to take root in our country," Trump added. "Freedom, security and justice will prevail."

He accused Islamic State fighters of leading a "campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world," and promised an unspecified "historic financial investment" in the US military.

He claimed that the "very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report" on certain attacks across Europe, without offering any corroborating evidence to back up his allegation.

"They have their reasons," he said, without explaining further.

Trump made fighting "radical Islamic terrorism" a central plank of his election campaign, and the issue is emerging as the organizing principle of his foreign and domestic policies.

In late January, the president ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of the US strategy to defeat IS.

Trump used potential cooperation in the fight against the fighters as a reason to embrace Russia and has tried to implement an order banning refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

The ban has spurred an unprecedented battle with the courts. On Sunday, Trump tried to pin the blame for future attacks on the federal judge who has temporarily blocked his executive order.

A US appeals court was set to hold a hearing yesterday over the controversial travel ban, which the government is defending as a "lawful exercise" of presient's authority.

The White House on Monday urged the court to reinstate the ban in the interests of national security three days after a federal judge barred enforcement of the controversial measure in a high-stakes case that looks increasingly likely to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Justice Department lawyers challenging the nationwide injunction called it "vastly overbroad" in a court brief filed Monday.

Tuesday's hour-long telephone hearing is scheduled for 3:00 pm (2300 GMT).

Two new polls show a majority of Americans now oppose the travel ban on refugees and travelers from seven mostly Muslim nations, which prompted airport chaos and condemnation around the o.

Most experts express more concern about Americans becoming radicalized and carrying out IS-inspired attacks, rather than the group dispatching clandestine agents around the world..

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Trump prioritising the fight against jihadists by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported yesterday.