Former prime minister Tony Blair on Sunday said it was possible the fight against Islamic State (Isis) fighters in northern Iraq and Syria could “evolve over time” and therefore involve the use of “combat force”.

Later in the day, US Central Command said further air strikes against Isis had been carried out in northern Iraq.

Speaking to CNN, Blair said: “The president [Barack Obama] is absolutely right to take on Isis and build the broadest possible coalition. We’ve got absolutely no choice but to do this, not only to contain and destroy Isis but to send a very strong signal to other terrorist groups in the region.”

He added: “You certainly need to fight groups like Isis on the ground, it’s certainly possible that those people there locally can carry on the offensive against them. This will evolve over time I’m sure.”

On Saturday, President Barack Obama repeated his promise that no US ground troops would be deployed against Isis, which the US has been hitting with air strikes since 8 August. The same day, after a week in which French jets joined in such strikes, President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt gave his backing to the growing international coalition being formed by Obama, but also said no international ground troops should be used.

A Central Command statement released on Sunday said: “US fighter aircraft have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [Isis] terrorists in Iraq in recent days.

“Two airstrikes conducted today destroyed a … mortar position northeast of Sinjar and an [Isis] semi-tractor trailer carrying munitions southwest of Sinjar … In other airstrikes since 19 September, US fighters destroyed an [Isis] boat ferrying supplies across the Euphrates River and an [Isis] fighting position southwest of Baghdad.

“In addition, four airstrikes northwest of Haditha destroyed two [Isis] armed vehicles, three [Isis] checkpoints and two [Isis] guard outposts.”

The statement said all aircraft returned safely and that there had now been 186 such strikes across Iraq.

This week, Congress supported Obama’s request for funding to aid Syrian anti-government forces in their fight against Isis. Next week, in New York, Obama will seek United Nations approval for a resolution regarding the fight against Isis, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.



Blair, who was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, added that there would be “no army of occupation” because “you’re not re-running Iraq or Afghanistan” and “the public has a fatigue with that kind of campaign and that is understandable”.

But he added: “There may be situations when we are prepared to use combat force, there may be others where we help other people to do that.”

Along with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have emerged as key members of Obama’s anti-Isis coalition, which its proponents say now includes more than 50 countries. Blair said many Arab countries would now “contemplate steps that they would not have contemplated some years ago”.

Asked about Alan Henning, the British aid worker currently held by Isis in Syria, and the recent killings of two Americans and one Briton by an Isis fighter who appears to be British, Blair said: “It’s horrific, it’s evil and its totally contrary to the principles of any form of religious faith … the broad mass of Muslim people in Britain will be appalled by this and will condemn it completely.”

On Sunday, Henning’s wife appealed for his release. In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Barbara Henning said: “Alan is a peaceful, selfless man who left his family and his job as a taxi driver in the UK to drive in a convoy all the way to Syria with his Muslim colleagues and friends to help those most in need.

“When he was taken he was driving an ambulance full of food and water to be handed out to anyone in need.

“His purpose for being there was no more and no less. This was an act of sheer compassion.

“I cannot see how it could assist any state’s cause to allow the world to see a man like Alan dying.”

Asked about British subjects who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight with Isis, like the man believed to have killed three hostages so far, Blair said: “These people have been subject to an ideology that has come in from abroad. It is a perversion of the true principles of Islam.”