Baghdad, June 14 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama has ruled out sending American troops "back into combat" in Iraq to help fight the growing threat of al-Qaeda-inspired Tak-firi militants in that country.

On Friday at the White House, the U.S. president said he was considering all options, with the exception of U.S. boots on the ground. Unnamed U.S. officials on Friday said the White House is “urgently and expediently” considering military action to halt the rapid advance of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Extremist militants from ISIL have reportedly captured two provincial capitals this week, namely Tikrit in Sala-huddin Province and Iraq’s second city of Mosul in the northern province of Nin-eveh.

Over the past days, Iraqi armed forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists, who have threatened to capture other Iraqi cities, including the capital, Baghdad. Obama confirmed that the troubles in Iraq were spilling over from Syria and "given the nature of these terrorists, it could eventually pose a threat to American interests as well."

The U.S. and its allies are supporting the foreign-backed militants operating inside Syria to overthrow the elected government of President Bashar al-Assad. And according to reports, Washington has recently started supplying the militants with weapons.