United States Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter announced on Saturday that the military would deploy approximately 200 additional troops in Syria to help retake al-Raqqa from the Islamic State terror group.
Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, Carter explained that the troops would assist the Kurdish-Arab militias in regaining control over the IS stronghold of al-Raqqa, reports Efe.
He said the personnel would involve members of special operations forces, trainers and advisers.
The Pentagon chief said the troops would be joining 300 special forces soldiers already in Syria to continue organising, training and equipping local combatants in the fight against the IS.
Carter said the US fight against the IS is aimed mainly to destroy the "cancer's parent tumour" in Iraq and Syria, as well as in Afghanistan and Libya.
On November 6, the Kurdish-Arab armed alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces launched the first phase of a ground offensive against the IS, with the support of the United States-led international coalition, to free the Syrian city of al-Raqqa.
--IANS
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