U.S. to Send 200 More Troops to Syria

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said about 200 more U.S. troops are being sent to Syria to help battle Islamic State fighters. The troops, to help Kurdish and Arab fighters retake the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa, will include special operations forces, Carter said Saturday. “These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 U.S. special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organizing, training, equipping, and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to ISIL,” he said in Bahrain on Saturday. “By combining our capabilities with those of our local partners, we've been squeezing ISIL by applying simultaneous pressure from all sides and across domains, through a series of deliberate actions to continue to build momentum,” he said. Carter also threw some thinly veiled criticism at Middle Eastern nations that he says aren’t doing enough to stop IS, urging “the ones complaining” about the U.S. camaign against IS to “get in the game.”