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.