A former head of the army has told Sky News he believes there will need to be a debate on sending British troops to fight Islamic State if other options are unsuccesful.
The UK has carried out airstrikes against IS in Iraq, but not Syria, and has also provided equipment and training to local forces.
But there is a deep reluctance to commit boots on the ground to the fight, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying when the Commons approved airstrikes that sending combat troops would be "wrong".
Lord Dannatt told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that the limited steps taken were not likely to be enough to defeat the jihadists who have seized control of large areas of northern Iraq and Syria.
"If this mission is right, and task is right and everything else has failed, there has got to be a debate about whether a least worst option is to provide boots on the ground," he said.
"I'm not calling for it now but I think we need to watch this very carefully."
His comments came after a video was released showing the beheading of Japanese hostage of Kenji Goto by IS.
Professor Peter Neumann, a terrorism expert at King's College London, said the airstrikes had slowed Islamic State's momentum, as seen in the success of Kurdish forces in driving the jihadists out of the Syrian town of Kobani.
"They cannot be defeated militarily but that does not mean military means are completely useless," he told Murnaghan.
He added that the militants could only be ultimately defeated once people within Iraq and Syria rose up and forced them out.
Lord Dannatt admitted there had be a reluctance to see soldiers engage in combat against IS following the experiences in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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Gallery: Syria: Aftermath Of Kobani Siege
A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) flashes a victory sign as he patrols in the streets in the northern Syrian town of Kobani
Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds took full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle
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