WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will deploy additional special operations forces into Syria to advise and assist in the fight against the Islamic State, according to media reports on Friday.
The administration of US President Barack Obama will deploy up to 50 commandos who will be stationed in northern Syria, US officials were quoted as saying by The Wall street Journal.
Two small US teams will assess the security situation on the ground and coordinate with local Syrian forces in the country, the media outlet added.
According to some reports, the increased US ground-support presence is part of preparations for a new military campaign against the Islamic State stronghold in Raqqa.
Officials emphasized that the US presence will remain narrow in scope and not resemble the large-scale troop deployments of past US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
