Sending troops to Iraq and Syria will be a terrible mistake, says Hillary Clinton

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• \"I will not send American combat troops to Iraq or Syria. That is off the table. That would be a terrible mistake,\" Clinton said.

• \"The network of terrorist organisations - not just IS, but others who are part of this unfortunate network that stretches from North Africa to South Asia - pose serious threats to friends, allies, partners, as well as to ourselves,\" Hillary said.

Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton has promised to refrain from sending US troops to war-torn Iraq or Syria if elected saying it would be a "terrible mistake", but refused to give any "blanket statement" on overseas deployment of American combat forces.

"I will not send American combat troops to Iraq or Syria. That is off the table. That would be a terrible mistake," Clinton said. The US, however, will continue to use Special Forces because of the kind of threats America faces, she told a New Hampshire audience during a townhall organised by CNN.

"The network of terrorist organisations - not just Islamic State, but others who are part of this unfortunate network that stretches from North Africa to South Asia - pose serious threats to friends, allies, partners, as well as to ourselves," she said.

"We have got to keep our country safe, and we have to work with the rest of the world to try to defeat ISIS, to end that terrorist threat. So I will be very careful, deliberate with decision makers when facing hard choices, because I know what's at stake".

In response to a query from the audience on overseas troop deployment, Clinton said she can't give a "blanket statement."

"I know you can understand why there can't be from me anyway a blanket statement. But, I want to assure you I will be transparent, I will be open, and I will explain to the American people if any occasion arises where we do have to take military action to protect ourselves or our close friends and partners".

Clinton said she believes military force must always be the last resort not a first choice.

"That is one of the biggest differences between me and the Republicans... I will do everything I possibly can to avoid sending American troops abroad, getting us involved in military conflicts".

"But I can't in good conscious stand here and tell you that there would never be any circumstances in the time that I served as President where it very well might be in America's best vital national security interest".

Appearing earlier at the same townhall, Bernie Sanders emphasised that the Islamic State needed to be defeated. "For a start, in my view, we have got to crush ISIS," he said.

"But we have to be not just tough, we have to be smart. That means we work with a large coalition, led by on-the-ground Muslim troops. King Abdullah of Jordan made the point, it will be Muslim troops who destroy Islamic State, because IS has hijacked their religion," he said.

"The US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia provide support, in my view, to the troops on the ground. So we've got to crush them. Internally, what we have got to do is significantly improve intelligence," Sanders said.

-PTI