The United States is "on the road" to defeating ISIS, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

"The coalition is strong, more committed than ever," Kerry said about the U.S.-led group of countries that has carried out airstrikes against ISIS since June 2014 according to New York Daily News.

The organization, which dubs itself the "Islamic State," controls large swaths of territory in eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. The resolve of the anti-ISIS allies has been further strengthened by the brutal killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was burnt alive after having been captured by the militants, Kerry said. The U.S. Secretary of State added that 22 percent of populated areas once held by ISIS have been taken back "without launching what we would call a major offensive."

"The resounding reaffirmations of commitment throughout the Arab world have been heartening and strong," Kerry added.

The top diplomat's positive outlook came just days after Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart delivered what Fox News called "a grim assessment of the group's evolution" before the House Armed Services Committee. The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency described how ISIS was surfacing in North Africa.

"With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under governed areas," the general testified.

Stewart's warnings were echoed by Ashton Carter, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Department of Defense. Carter told Congress last week that he was aware of reports that ISIS may also try to expand into Afghanistan.

Retired Gen. John Allen, the White House special envoy on ISIS, told ABC's "This Week," however, that the United States has developed a "comprehensive plan" and is striking a "hard blow." Even critics of the Obama administration's foreign policy seem to remain weary of a possible ground offensive in the fight against the Islamic terrorists.

Texas Republican Ted Cruz, widely considered a 2016 White House hopeful, voiced opposition to sending U.S. troops overseas, according to Fox News. "I don't believe right now we need American boots on the ground," the senator insisted. "And the reason is: We have boots on the ground already, with the Kurds."

Related