(VOVworld) – The US-led campaign against the Islamic State (IS) is troubled with difficulties and restrictions, US officials said on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appear before a House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on June 17 (GettyImage).

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Martin Dempsey, told a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the US effort to create an effective Iraqi ground force is moving slowly due to not having received enough recruits from the Iraqi government.
So far, the US has helped train only 7,000 Iraqi soldiers, far short of the 24,000 that the Pentagon envisioned training by this fall.

General Dempsey said the US could not offer more direct involvement if local forces did not show their greater commitment in the campaign.  

US President Barack Obama earlier admitted that the US-led campaign against the IS in Iraq and Syria hasn’t had a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy due to lack of commitment from the Iraqi government, including troops recruitment.