Palin drops Obama bomb

The rise of ISIS in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere was directly caused by the administration of Barack Obama, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said on Thursday.

Palin spoke Thursday evening -- to rousing applause -- at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual meeting of right-wing activists and politicians.

She criticised the president for not cracking down on the militants and said he should have done more to prevent ISIS from growing.

When troops were withdrawn from Iraq, experts advised to keep a residual force to maintain order in the country, Palin said.

"The rise of ISIS is the direct result of this administration's refusal to heed that warning," Palin said.

Palin also said that Islamist militants now control more territory than before the US began the War on Terror. That claim could not be independently verified.