United States Will Unleash Special Ops Force to Attack ISIS in Iraq and Syria

This image made from video taken on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 from a helmet camera, shows U.S. and Iraqi special forces freeing hostages from a prison controlled by Islamic State militants in the town of Huwija, 15 kilometers (9 miles) west of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Kurdistan Regional Security Council via AP

The U.S. military will deploy a specialized force to Iraq to attack ISIS, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on December 1.

“We’re using the might of the finest fighting force the world has ever known,” Carter told the House Armed Services Committee.

“Tens of thousands of U.S. personnel are operating in the broader Middle East region,and more are on the way.”

ISIS, also known as ISIL or the Islamic State, holds territory in Iraq and Syria and has gained influence in the region over the past few years.

Citing the recent terror attack on Paris as an “assault on the civilization we defend,” Carter vowed that ISIS would be destroyed.

“We are acting to defeat ISIL at its core,” he said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the U.S. Strategy for Syria and Iraq and its Implications for the Region. Carter said the U.S. is deploying a new special expeditionary force to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces fight Islamic State militants. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik