Story highlights The Obama administration has acknowledged it is sending up to 50 special operations forces to secret locations in the war-ravaged Middle East nation

Carter said they will more than just take "direct action," or go on raids

(CNN) Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged Wednesday that Special Operations forces inside northern Syria are to gather intelligence on the ground by talking with local forces and people in the region.

The Obama administration has acknowledged it is sending up to 50 Special Operations forces to secret locations in the war-ravaged Middle East nation.

They will do more than just take "direct action," or go on raids, Carter told reporters while traveling to Paris for a meeting of ministers on the strategy to fight ISIS.

"The really valuable thing we get from their being there is that connection to local forces that are willing to take action," Carter said, making some of his most extensive comments to date about the troops' deployment.

"We learn about them and interact with them. We collect valuable intelligence that informs the air campaign -- valuable intelligence about how ISIL is preying upon the people, taxing the people and so forth that helps us with our -- the economic aspects of our campaign, the counter-financing, the counter-messaging parts of our campaign," Carter added, using another term for ISIS.

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