U.S. special forces ‘now in place’ in Iraq

A new U.S. force of special operations troops has arrived in Iraq and is preparing to work with Iraqi forces to go after ISIS targets, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday.

Carter disclosed the deployment in a broad speech to U.S. soldiers that sought to underscore American efforts to accelerate the campaign against ISIS, both in Iraq and Syria.

“The specialized expeditionary targeting force I announced in December is now in place and is preparing to work with the Iraqis to begin going after ISIL’s fighters and commanders,” Carter said at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

While the force was expected to number only about 200, its deployment marks the latest expansion of U.S. military pressure on ISIS. It also exposes American forces to greater risk, something President Barack Obama has done only sparingly.

The force is separate from another deployment last year of up to 50 U.S. special operations troops in Syria to coordinate on the ground with U.S.-backed rebels fighting in a civil war raging since 2011.

Carter said that smaller group of forces had already established contact with rebels, as well as new targets for airstrikes and “strikes of all kinds.”

“These operators have helped focus the efforts of the local, capable forces against key ISIL vulnerabilities, including their lines of communication,” Carter said.

Obama, in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, warned against overstating the fight ISIS but said his administration is focused on destroying the extremist group.

Carter’s upbeat assessment emphasized advances by Iraqi forces -- including retaking control of the city of Ramadi - and by U.S.-backed rebels in Syria. He focused on efforts to “collapse” ISIS’ power centers of Raqqa, in Syria and Mosul, in Iraq.

“President Obama is committed to doing what it takes – as opportunities arise, as we see what works, and as the enemy adapts – until ISIL is delivered a lasting defeat,” he said.

Carter was addressing soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, 1,800 of whom will deploy to Iraq in the coming months, largely to train Iraqi forces and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.