Barack Obama and US lawmakers have ratcheted up the pressure on the Islamic State, the president declaring there was no hiding place for the jihadists and warning: "Our reach is long."
After Obama spoke at MacDill Air Force Base, the House of Representatives voted 273 to 156 to approve his plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, part of his strategy to destroy IS.
Obama was keen to project a sternly determined mood at the Florida air base, the headquarters of US Central Command, which oversees military action in the Middle East.
He met military commanders to discuss how to defeat the so-called "Islamic State" - a powerful extremist organisation - while keeping America out of another protracted conflict in the Middle East.
Obama has consistently said he will not put US "boots on the ground" despite jihadists grabbing vast areas of Iraq and Syria in a offensive that has seen beheadings and forced conversions.
Two American reporters and a Briton were executed on camera by a masked IS militant, provoking revulsion and condemnation.
Obama, who last week vowed to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the IS group, stood firm on his pledge that a US combat mission was not on the cards - but insisted the jihadists would be defeated.
"The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," Obama stressed.
His comments came after America's top officer suggested military advisers might provide counsel to Iraqi troops in "close combat", sparking hand-wringing in Washington about "mission creep."
Obama again emphasised the broad-based nature of the US-led coalition to defeat the jihadists, and noted that Saudi Arabia had agreed to host a US mission for training moderate Syrian rebels.
Later Wednesday, in Washington, lawmakers voted to authorise the training and arming of vetted Syrian rebels to combat the Islamist radicals.
This despite the misgivings of war-weary Democrats that the move could open the door to full-blown American intervention and concern from conservatives that the plan falls short of what is needed.
The measure was included as an amendment to a stop-gap federal spending measure which also easily passed the House.
The overall bill now shifts to the Senate, where leaders are confident it will pass on Thursday and head to the president for his signature.
House Speaker John Boehner hailed the vote as "an important, initial step forward in taking on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant".
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