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A US-led coalition has been conducting air strikes against IS since last year
The US has indicated a shift in its campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, including the use of direct ground raids.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter said there would also be more air strikes against “high-value targets”.
Observers say his comments reflect acknowledgment of the lack of progress in defeating the militant group.
Separately, the US says Iran is being asked for the first time to international talks over Syria’s war.
Mr Carter’s comments, made to the Senate Armed Services Committee, come a week after US-Iraqi forces rescued dozens of hostages held by IS in Iraq.
“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” Mr Carter said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
“We expect to intensify our air campaign, including with additional US and coalition aircraft, to target ISIL with a higher and heavier rate of strikes,” he said.
“This will include more strikes against ISIL high-value targets as our intelligence improves.”
A US-led coalition began airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq and Syria last year. President Barack Obama said the objective was to “degrade and ultimately destroy” IS.
Russia started its own air strikes in Syria at the end of last month, saying it wants to help President Bashar al-Assad defeat IS and other extremists.
But Washington has strongly criticised the Russian campaign, arguing that it has been focussed on rebel opposition fighters and that it will only fuel more extremism.
Mr Carter said the fight against IS would now concentrate mostly on Raqqa, the militants’ declared capital in Syria, and Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq.
He did not divulge the circumstances by which the US might carry out operations on the ground on its own.
“[But] once we locate them, no target is beyond our reach,” he said.
Mr Carter said the fight against IS would now concentrate mostly on Raqqa, the militants’ declared capital in Syria, and Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq.
He did not divulge the circumstances by which the US might carry out operations on the ground on its own.
“[But] once we locate them, no target is beyond our reach,” he said.
BBC