Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, reportedly agrees with the assertion by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that President Obama helped create ISIS.
During a campaign rally on Aug. 10, Trump said Obama was the founder of ISIS and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was a co-founder. He later said the comments were sarcasm.
The Associated Press reported that Nasrallah, who has long claimed the United States fueled the rise of Islamic extremists, quoted Trump during a rally Saturday, saying, "this is an American presidential candidate who is saying this. What he says is based on facts and documents."
Nasrallah also accused Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of helping create the militant Sunni group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
The comments are the latest among rogue foreign leaders seeming to support or compliment Trump, Bloomberg explained, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin called Trump "the absolute leader of the presidential race" and that a spokesman for North Korea’s government called Trump "a wise politician."
Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence attempted to clarify Trump's comments during a subsequent interview on Fox News.
"He was being very serious, and he was making a point that needs to be made, that there is no question that the failed policies of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the wider Middle East, created a vacuum within Iraq in which ISIS was able to arise," Pence said.
Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group, is aligned with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the civil war against rebel groups.
Many Twitter users reacted strongly to the comments.
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