US to send 200 more troops to Syria to battle IS

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday that as many as 200 more American troops are being sent to Syria to help Kurdish and Arab fighters capture the Islamic State group’s key stronghold of Raqqa.

The extra troops will include special operations forces and are in addition to 300 U.S. troops already authorised for the effort to recruit, organise, train and advise local Syrian forces to combat IS.