A senior administration official says President Barack Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria in order to gather intelligence on the Islamic State militant group.

The move could mark the first step toward U.S. airstrikes against targets inside Syria. The White House says Obama has not yet made a decision on whether to take military action inside Syria.

The U.S. is already launching airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq. The group announced last week that it had murdered an American journalist in Syria and is threatening more U.S. hostages.

The official was not authorized to discuss Obama’s decision by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

(AP)