"These are capabilities that will continue the process of accelerating the defeat of ISIL [Daesh, also known as the Islamic State]," Carter told NBC News in a televised interview on Monday evening. "We are going to accelerate this campaign every time we find an opportunity to do so."
Carter confirmed that at least 200 more US troops would be sent as advisers to the Iraqi Security Forces bringing the total number of US military still in the country.
But, Carter insisted that the moves did not signal any change in the Obama administration’s strategy to defeat the Islamic State.
"I am very comfortable that our operational approach is the right one. In the end, Iraqi forces have to do the defeating, sustain the defeat. We can help them, we can't substitute for them we're not looking to," Carter explained.
According to other US media reports, eight Apache ground-support helicopters would be sent to support the Iraqi Security Forces drive on Mosul, which Carter described as the "parent tumor" of Daesh in the Middle East.
