Carter said the United States would deploy a “special expeditionary targeting force” to Iraq that would conduct raids to kill or capture ISIS leaders and create a “virtuous cycle of better intelligence which generates more targets, more raids, and more momentum” against the terrorist group.
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Carter said the raids in Iraq will be done at the invitation of the Iraqi government and focused on defending its borders and building the Iraqi security force’s own capacity.
U.S. President Barack Obama has approved a plan to send Special Forces to Syria as well.
The force is in addition to the “less than 50” Special Operations forces Obama authorized in October to aid in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
But lawmakers questioned the effectiveness of the administration’s Islamic State strategy.
Carter said the “specialized expeditionary targeting force” will work with both Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq, and be capable of unilateral action in Syria.
A USA official familiar with the composition of special operations forces told Fox News that approximately 75 percent of the group bound for Iraq would provide support.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the deployment of the force in congressional testimony on Tuesday. We have the long reach that no one else has.
He did not say how large the force is, or where it will be based.
Carter said the special operations task force had been established with the cooperation of the Iraqi government.
“There is no need for foreign combat ground troops on Iraqi soil”, Xinhua quoted a statement by Abadi’s office as saying on Tuesday.
The presence of American ground forces is a contentious issue in Iraq, where the United States fought a almost nine-year war, and it is politically expedient for Abadi to distance himself from the deployment. And it puts everybody on notice in Syria.
“American special operators bring a unique suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers”.
The Iraqi popular defense groups of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the Badr Movement, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq also reacted to the announcement by pledging to combat any U.S. troops deployed to the conflict-hit country. “The Iraqi government wants U.S. troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory”.
Carter was evasive on the number of the troops to be sent but that according to sources about 100 -150 troops will land in Iraq to conduct raids on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.
USA officials spoke extensively with the prime minister over the last several weeks, Warren said, adding that Abadi’s statement lays out a framework for the roles and responsibilities of the new unit.
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Obama has set the maximum number of US troops at 3,550, but it was not clear whether the president will increase that number to accommodate the force, or whether the teams would have to be built within the current limit.
