The United States government is sending more troops to Syria in a bid to expel the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) out of its Raqqa stronghold.

According to US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, the additional 200 US combat troops, including Special Forces, will join the 300 already deployed alongside Kurdish and Arab fighters. Allied forces have advanced to within 25 kilometers of the de facto capital of the terror group's self-declared Islamic caliphate.

Like Us on Facebook

Carter made these revelations during a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Manama Dialogue, where various officials compared notes on the fight against extremism.

Defense ministers at the forum gave a sobering view of the threat posed by terrorism on the globe. They warned that ISIS has a strong presence on the Internet. They also expressed worry that hordes of returning terrorist fighters will pose a huge threat to their societies.

According to German Defense Minister Ursula Von Der Leyen, social media sites have been weaponized, making terrorist strongholds Mosul and Raqqa "only a mouse click away."

Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen pointed out that since global partners initiated the war on terror in 2014, ISIS has been kicked out of over 50 percent of its strongholds in Iraq.

"Paradoxically, the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria will likely worsen the threat in South-East Asia. We expect the returning fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and a few from Singapore, who are now in Iraq and Syria, will likely return to continue their violent plots at home," the German defense minister said.

An estimated 1,000 fighters from South-East Asia have joined ISIS. Groups pledging their allegiance to the terror group have also set up camp in Southern Philippines.

TagsISIS, US, us special forces