Sending U.S. special forces to Syria will put them 'in harm's way' -Pentagon chief

By Yeganeh Torbati FAIRBANKS, Alaska (Reuters) - The decision to send U.S. special forces to Syria is part of a strategy to enable local forces to defeat Islamic State but it will put U.S. forces in harm's way, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday. "Our role fundamentally and the strategy is to enable local forces but does that put U.S. forces in harm's way? It does, no question about it," Carter said, while on travel to Fairbanks, Alaska. This month a U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq participating in a Kurdish-led mission to rescue Islamic State hostages. Carter did not rule out the possibility of further special forces deployments to Syria if the initial deployment is successful. "We are going to continue to innovate, to build on what works," Carter said. "As we think of new ways and ... develop new opportunities to support capable and motivating forces we will consider those, we will make recommendations to the president." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Eric Beech)