Washington, May 5 (EFE).– A U.S. Army officer has sued President Barack Obama for waging war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria without congressional authorization, U.S. media said Thursday.

Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Smith argues that the deepening U.S. mission against the jihadists is illegal because it lacks the necessary authorization from Congress.

“To honor my oath, I am asking the court to tell the president that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Smith wrote, using one of several acronyms for the jihadist outfit.

The United States’ war against the Islamic State is being waged from the air but also on the ground through the deployment of military advisers, who in many cases are on the front lines directing the battle.

This week, a third American service member was killed in the war against the jihadists in Iraq. The U.S. government, meanwhile, continues to expand the presence of Special Operations forces in both Iraq and Syria.

The Obama administration says it is making use of congressional authority provided for fighting the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but critics say the executive branch is overstepping its constitutional bounds in this latest conflict.

Congress has not provided new authorization for the war against the Islamic State, although it has approved funding for those operations. EFE