Trump gets new anti-IS plan

The Pentagon presented the White House with possible new battle plans Monday to defeat the Islamic State group, after President Donald Trump demanded top brass find additional ways to destroy the jihadists.

A pillar of Trump's campaign was to quicken the fight against IS, which despite losing thousands of fighters still controls parts of northern Syria and Iraq, and he berated Barack Obama's administration for taking too long to do so.

Trump had claimed to have a secret plan to defeat the brutal extremists, but never disclosed what this might be.

He repeatedly pledged to "bomb the hell" out of them and even threatened to kill family members of suspected IS fighters.

Shortly after taking office, the new president gave the Pentagon 30 days to review progress to date and develop a comprehensive plan to "totally obliterate" IS.

The initial draft of the review is now complete, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis presented the findings to Trump's top national security advisors.

The options outlined in the classified document are preliminary and need to be further refined, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis. "It is about the rapid defeat of ISIS," Davis said.

Meanwhile, more than 120 retired admirals and generals urged President Donald Trump not to slash spending on diplomacy and development aid, CNN reported Monday.

Trump has proposed increasing defense spending by some 54 billion dollars. Officials say he would like to cut a similar amount from the Environmental Protection Agency and State Department.