Majority of Americans favor increased ground troops against IS: poll

The majorities of Americans now favor increased U.S. military action, including the use of ground forces, against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, according to a new poll.

Seventy-three percent of Americans support increased U.S. airstrikes against the IS, and 60 percent support the increased use of U.S. ground forces in Iraq and Syria, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Friday.

The proportion of Americans who support increased use of U.S. ground forces against the IS doubled compared to the last survey conducted in June 2014, when only 30 percent of Americans supported sending U.S. ground troops to combat the IS, the poll showed.

However, the poll also found that the American public are still wary of getting involved in a major military commitment, as only 33 percent of respondents support deploying a large number of ground troops.

Meanwhile, in the wake of attacks in Paris, where at least 130 people were killed and more than 350 were wounded, 83 percent of Americans believe that such an attack with large casualties is likely in the near future, 10 percent higher than a Quinnipiac University poll conducted earlier this month.

Forty percent of Americans say a major attack in the United States is "very likely", matching the record level of concern surveyed after the 2005 subway bombings in Britain. Enditem