“This latest commitment of additional forces within Syria is another important step in enabling our partners to deal ISIL a lasting defeat,” Mr. Carter told a security conference here.
The deployment of more American troops to Syria, which Mr. Carter said President Obama had approved in recent days, comes as questions are arising in the Middle East and in Washington about the level of support President-elect Donald J. Trump will maintain for rebel groups in Syria combating the Islamic State and others fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Trump has expressed a desire to work with Russia and the Syrian government to defeat the Islamic State, rejecting the rebels by saying that “we have no idea who these people are.”
The battle for Raqqa — the de facto capital of the extremist group’s self-declared caliphate — is entering a crucial phase as a coalition of 45,000 fighters, including more than 13,000 Arabs, has moved within 15 miles of the city. Their initial goal is to encircle the city and largely cut off the resupply of arms, supplies and fighters, American commanders say.
In the last month, the American-led air campaign has carried out nearly 300 airstrikes around Raqqa, including attacks last week that destroyed 188 oil tanker trucks, the largest strikes of their kind in the two-year effort.