Islamic State militants could grow strong enough to target people on the streets of Britain unless action is taken, David Cameron has warned.
The British Prime Minister, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said a “humanitarian response” to IS was not enough and a “firm security response” was needed.
The BBC says it comes as Church leaders expressed concern that the United Kingdom had no “coherent” approach to tackling Islamic extremism.
IS has seized large parts of northern Iraq and Syria over the summer.
Kurdish forces, supported by United States air strikes, are currently battling to retake Mosul dam from IS fighters in northern Iraq.
There are also continuing reports of massacres of non-Muslims by the extreme Sunni group, which is seeking to build a new Islamic state spanning Iraq and Syria.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr. Cameron said: “True security will only be achieved if we use all our resources – aid, diplomacy, our military prowess – to help bring about a more stable world.
“If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.”
He warned that if IS was able to “carve out its so-called caliphate,” the UK would be “facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member.”
