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Donald Trump’s Defence Department may recommend sending combat troops into Syria to fight Islamic State militants, US reports have claimed.

Already a small number of specials forces operate in the war-torn country, but the previous Obama administration had rejected putting soldiers on the ground.

According to CNN although the Pentagon has not yet proposed the deployment to the White House it was under consideration.

"It's possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time," one defence official.

Ultimately the decision will lie with President Trump who has made no secret of his plans to tackle ISIS.

Discussing the terror group on the campaign trail, he pledged to "bomb the s--t out of them."

In September, Trump said: "I am also going to convene my top generals and give them a simple instruction: They will have 30 days to submit to the Oval Office a plan for defeating ISIS."

US military planners and intelligence officials are reported to have mapped virtually every airstrip and location in Syria that might have to be used by US troops.

One option would put hundreds, if not thousands, of additional troops into a combat role as part of the fight to take Raqqa.

(Image: Reuters)

It comes after US commanders said American-backed local forces will take terrorised Raqqa and Mosul and liberate their civilians after two years of horrific ISIS rule.

Air Force Colonel John Dorrian confirmed the claims amid calls by President Trump for a quick end to the jihadis’ grip on the Middle East. With Mosul in north Iraq about to fall, IS is desperately trying to keep its grip on Raqqa in Syria.

But Syrian Democratic Forces and American special forces are preparing to seize it.

He said: “What we expect is within the next few weeks the city would be nearly completely isolated. Then there will be a decision point to move in.”

There are more than 6,000 US troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria, backed by hundreds of British Special Forces and regular soldiers training local army recruits in Iraq.

The Pentagon is believed to be preparing to announce an increase in the numbers of troops being deployed to Iraq. Air strikes are being unleashed by the US and the RAF .

(Image: Getty)

Military chiefs in Britain fear the IS threat will not end when it loses Raqqa and Mosul.

A security source said: “With the fall of their geographical position IS is likely to revert to more classic terrorist models.

“It is likely they will try to disappear underground like al-Qaeda and encourage lone wolf or undetectable attacks by people not previously on the front line.”

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The source added that fighters who survive returning frontline returnees, those who have not been killed with nowhere to go.

“These are extremely dangerous people, skilled and hardened by years of battle with the know-how to cause carnage on Europe’s streets.”