United States Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said the US will deploy "specialised" troops to Iraq to help fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group.
Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, the Pentagon chief said that a "specialised expeditionary targeting force" was being deployed to help Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
"In full coordination with the government of Iraq, we're deploying a specialised expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and to put even more pressure on ISIL," Carter said on Tuesday.
"American special operators bring a unique suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers. They will help us garner valuable ground intelligence, further enhance our air campaign and, above all, enable local forces that can regain and then hold territory occupied by ISIL."
Carter added that the special forces would also be able to intervene in Syria, where Washington has already announced it is sending about 50 special operations troops.
Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the US capital, said that the number of additional troops to be sent is still unknown.
"We don't know yet how many forces are going to be deployed," she said. "The Iraqi government wants US troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory.
"In Syria, the US president has approved a plan to send in special forces, but is doing so without the consent of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that's something that has angered Assad since the coalition launched air strikes more than a year ago."
Carter's comments come as the British parliament prepares to debate
whether the Royal Air Force should start bombing in Syria. Extra planes could be sent to Cyprus if MPs vote on whether to extend British military intervention against ISIL.
If successfully passed by the MPs on Wednesday, British fighter jets will be allowed to extend their campaign against ISIL fighters in Iraq to neighbouring Syria, where the group has its headquarters in the city of Raqqa.
David Cameron, the UK prime minister, called for military intervention in ISIL-held areas of Syria after the group's attacks in Paris on November 13, which left 130 people dead.
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