Terror threat

Islamic State extremists are expanding their international footprint in the Mideast and North Africa, the U.S. military’s top intelligence official said, offering a far bleaker security assessment than have President Barack Obama and his political appointees.

The Sunni extremist group is extending its reach beyond Iraq and Syria using “ungoverned and under-governed areas” to establish affiliates in Algeria, Egypt and Libya, Marine Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said in prepared testimony obtained in advance of a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

Islamic State Reach Cited by Pentagon Gloomier Than Obama’s View