Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi said sending any foreign troops to his country to help fight the Islamic State group is "out of the question" on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Al-Abadi stressed that there is no need for other nations to send troops to help fight the Islamic State, the AP reported.
"Not only is it not necessary," Al-Abadi said, "We don't want them. We won't allow them. Full stop," according to the AP.
Al-Abadi said the United States airstrikes targeting militants that have taken control of northern and western Iraq has helped fight the Sunni extremists, and he also urged the international community to go after the group in neighboring Syria, saying the battle will prove endless unless the militants are wiped out there as well, the AP reported.
President Barack Obama has outlined a plan that includes more military efforts in Iraq, increased support and training for Syrian rebel groups, and expanded airstrikes against the militants in Syria, according to the AP.
Al-Abadi's remarks came a day after the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that American ground troops may be needed to battle Islamic State forces in the Middle East if Obama's current strategy fails, the AP reported.
"The only contribution the American forces or the international coalition is going to help us with is from the sky," al-Abadi said, according to the AP. "We are not giving any blank check to the international coalition to hit any target in Iraq."
He also added that the Iraqi military will choose and approve targets, and the U.S. is not allowed to take action without consulting with Baghdad first, the AP reported.
"The fight will go on unless ISIL is hit in Syria," Al-Abadi said, according to the AP. "This is the responsibility of the international community - on top of them the United States government - to do something about ISIL in Syria."
