WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the United States would intensify its air campaign against the Islamic State and would not hesitate to carry out ground operations against the Islamic State terrorist group.
“I am not aware of any plans to substantially increase the presence here or to begin conducting these major ground operations that you saw here back in 2006,” Warren stated in a briefing.
“This is not a major shift,” he said.
Warren also noted that the United States had been carrying out special operations “when the conditions warranted it” and intended to continue these actions.
On Thursday, CENTCOM confirmed that a Special Operations team had carried out a rescue mission with Iraqi counterparts near the town of Hawija in northern Iraq. One US soldier was killed during the raid.
