Obama to make primetime address after California attack

[WASHINGTON] President Barack Obama will make a rare primetime address to the nation laying out how he will keep Americans safe and defeat the Islamic State group, days after 14 people were shot dead in California.

On Sunday at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday) from the Oval Office, he will again look to reassure the American people in the wake of the attack, which the FBI is investigating as a possible act of terrorism.

The massacre, if proven to be terror-related, would be the deadliest such assault on American soil since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The last time Mr Obama made an address to the nation from the Oval Office was in August 2010 to mark the end of US combat operations in Iraq.

Mr Obama will give the latest in the investigation into the California shootings and "the president will also discuss the broader threat of terrorism, including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will defeat it," a White House statement said.

"He will reiterate his firm conviction that ISIL (IS) will be destroyed and that the United States must draw upon our values - our unwavering commitment to justice, equality and freedom - to prevail over terrorist groups that use violence to advance a destructive ideology." AFP