In the interview, Corbyn likened ISIS's actions to those taken by US forces in Fallujah in 2004, when they bombarded the city.

"Yes, they are brutal. Yes, some of what they have done is quite appalling," Corbyn said. "Likewise, some of what the Americans did in Fallujah and other places is appalling."

The US admitted to using white phosphorus and other weapons in the attacks, which has caused striking increases in the infant mortality rate in Fallujah.

During the interview, Corbyn said there needed to be "an acceptance and understanding of why so many people in some of the cities in the north have apparently been prepared to accept the ISIS forces."

He said he was concerned that western forces might intervene and that a "political compromise" was preferable.

"Whilst the US has not yet sent in large numbers of troops, the danger is that in the sort of perilous civil war that is going on, western forces will once again be dragged in and the war will just go on for a long time, with awful consequences for the people of Iraq," he said.

"I think there has to be a political solution. All wars have to end in some sort of political compromise. Why not start with a political compromise now rather than fuelling the war by putting more weapons, more arms and more money into the conflict?"

A spokesperson for Corbyn's campaign said the Labour leader was not referring to compromise with ISIS, but against ISIS.

The spokesperson said: "Jeremy Corbyn believes the violent ideology of ISIS is a vicious, repugnant force that has to be stopped – where Jeremy Corbyn talks about the need for a political solution and compromise he means not with ISIS but against ISIS, working across the region and beyond to choke off supplies that help fund and arm them, and working with neighbouring states in the region to come to common solutions."