Obama says US officials 'underestimated' Islamist militants

Over the weekend President Obama said that U.S. intelligence officials "underestimated" the threat of Islamist militants, a group calling itself the Islamic State.

In a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday, President Obama said that U.S. intelligence officials underestimated the threat of Islamist militants calling themselves the Islamic State. What do his comments say about the current threat?

U.S.-led airstrikes continued to hit parts of Iraq and Syria as militants made gains toward Baghdad, according to the BBC.

Over the weekend President Obama said that U.S. intelligence officials underestimated the threat of Islamist militants, a group calling itself the Islamic State.

"I think our head of the intelligence community Jim Clapper has acknowledged that they underestimated what has been taking place in Syria," said Obama on CBS' 60 minutes Sunday.

So what do his recent comments say about the current threat?

Elias Groll, assistant editor with Foreign Policy, shares more.