Obama Admin made countering violent extremism top priority: White House

Washington: Combating incidents of violent extremism such as the "tragic" Wisconsin gurudwara shooting in which six worshippers, including Indians, were killed has been a top priority of the Obama government, the White House has said.

"This administration has made countering violent extremism, like the violent extremism that we saw in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a top priority," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday.

Earnest was responding to a question on the third anniversary of the tragic incident in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in which a White supremacist killed six Sikh worshippers in a gurudwara.

"When this event, when this tragic event originally occurred, we expressed our profound sorrow at the innocent loss of life and offer our sincere condolences to the families of those who had loved ones that were killed in this vicious attack," Earnest said.

"This kind of extremism manifests itself in a variety of ways, and this administration is determined to work effectively with local elected officials and local law enforcement and with community leaders across the country, in communities large and small, to counter it," he said.

Noting that this is a "challenge" and a risk that the administration does not take lightly, Earnest said that the national security professionals' efforts and hard work continued 24 hours to try to protect the American people.

Wade Michael Page, 40, fatally shot six people and wounded four others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek Wisconsin on August 5 2012.