WASHINGTON — President Obama has one more thing to say about ISIS commanders: Shoot to kill.
Obama for the first time has authorized the Pentagon to target leaders of the terrorist group without restriction.
Topping the list is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leader who has proclaimed himself caliph of the terror group’s domain in Iraq and Syria.
The United States had previously offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his whereabouts.
Military officials confirmed the new directive in a Washington Post report.
The number of ISIS fighters might be growing as a new CIA assessment put the figure at three times previous estimates, a report said.
A CIA spokesman told CNN that the terror group can “muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.”
In a speech to the nation Wednesday night, the president pledged to mount a “relentless effort” to take out ISIS wherever it exists.
Obama didn’t go into specifics.
But senior administration officials explained that the all-out offensive would include taking out the leadership, a tactic successfully employed in Yemen and Somalia against al Qaeda offshoots.
“That’s a strategy we’ve been following against al Qaeda for years, and it’s been very effective,” said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).
The new orders make it clear that previous restrictions were being removed.
Before this week, US forces could launch only airstrikes against ISIS to protect US personnel or property in Iraq, protect refugees or secure key installations.
Hunting down the group’s leaders is expected to be an especially difficult task that would involve dedicated drone missions for weeks or months, as well as solid leads from sources on the ground, officials told the Washington Post.
The administration continued efforts Thursday to encircle ISIS by assembling a broad coalition.
The US signed up Arab allies and Persian Gulf states to back a “coordinated military campaign” against ISIS.
They issued a joint communique from Saudi Arabia’s summer capital, Jeddah.
House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) told The Post the participation of Saudi Arabia was a “breakthrough.”
Turkey attended the Mideast meeting, but didn’t sign on with the coalition.