WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday renewed his promise to continue training and supporting Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to fight Daesh and al-Qaeda militants.

Announcing his selection of Gen. Joseph Dunford to succeed Gen. Martin Dempsey as the next Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Obama vowed to "remain relentless against al-Qaeda."

"We have to keep training Afghan forces and remain relentless against al-Qaeda. We have to push back against ISIL [Daesh] and strengthen forces in Syria and build moderate opposition in Syria," Obama vowed.

Addressing the media over Dunford's appointment, Obama said Dunford was one of the "most admired officers in our military", and someone whose decision-making he trusts.

Gen. Dunford served as the Commander of American and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan in 2013 and 2014, and now serves as the Commandant of the U.S Marine Corps.

"Under his steady hand, we've achieved key milestones, including the transition to Afghan responsibility for security, historic Afghan elections, and the drawdown of U.S forces," Obama said.

This comes after Afghan national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar admitted in a Senate meeting Tuesday that Daesh was a serious threat to Afghanistan's security and stability.

According to Atmar, Daesh is trying to have more influence in Afghanistan in order to have access to drugs – which is considered one of the major financial sources of the Taliban.

"Daesh has increased its activities in Afghanistan to have access to drugs markets and finance their operations through drugs," Atmar said.

However he assured that the government had formulated a new strategy to curb Daesh militants– an extremist group that has seized large swathes in Iraq and Syria.

The president also nominated Air Force General Paul Selva as the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gen. Selva currently serves as the head of U.S Transportation Command -- the organization tasked with managing air, land, and sea military transportation -- and is a top Air Force officer and pilot. (Tolonews)