U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry answers media questions after appearing at the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday the United States has the ability to “neutralize” Islamic State much faster than it was able to do with al Qaeda.

“We are going to defeat Daesh. We always said it will take time,” Kerry said, using an alternative name for the Islamist militant group.

“We began our fight against al Qaeda in 2001 and it took us quite a few years before we were able to eliminate Osama bin Laden and the top leadership and neutralize them as an effective force. We hope to do Daesh much faster than that and we think we have an ability to do that,” he told reporters.