US to send more troops to Iraq to help with Mosul

The US will send 600 additional troops to Iraq as central government forces push towards Mosul, which is now occupied by the Islamic State group, according to AFP. Davis said the troops would also help in “intelligence support”, and Iraqi forces will remain the primary “trigger pullers”.

Mr Abadi said they would not play a combat role, and that their number would be “reduced immediately after the liberation of Mosul”.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders say the push on the city could begin by the second half of October.

Emphasizing that the Americans are there as advisers, Abadi added: “It is our troops who will liberate the land”.

In a really stunning piece of global news, the U.S.is sending 600 troops to Iraq in an attempt to retake the city of Mosul, which is now occupied by ISIS forces. “President [Barack] Obama has authorized approximately 600 additional USA troops to further enable Iraqi forces”. According to Davis, once Mosul has been cleared of ISIS fighters, “what is left will be significantly less hard”.

But Mosul, the largest city under ISIL’s control, is likely to be the biggest battle yet. The majority of the ones in Iraq have occurred in the northern part of the country.

Moulton, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been on three oversight visits to Iraq, where he met with generals, foreign policy leaders and troops.

“The Iraqis are still in the lead”.

Obama took office with the U.S.in the midst of wars in both of those countries.

“The reason for the increase of US advisors in Iraq is to provide the necessary support for the imminent campaign to recapture Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group”, the statement read.

For more than two years, the Iraqi military offensive on Mosul has been expected to be the most important battle against ISIS.

Once Mosul is defeated, Carter said some of the USA forces could remain.

From early on, American military officials have telegraphed that the city would be enveloped from the north and south by as many as eight Iraqi Army brigades.

Kurdish troops will coordinate with Iraqi and coalition forces in the attack.

USA advisors thus far have been largely confined to Iraqi division headquarters.

How long they will stay is up to the Iraqis, Carter insisted. “They would love to be able to use chemical weapons against us”, Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

USA -backed Peshmerga have also received 9,000 gas masks, part of a $415 million aid package that also covered stipends and other costs. Trump said in March that he would deploy up to 30,000 US troops in the Middle East to defeat the Islamic State. “But now they can see that Mosul is turning against them”.

“We are prepared to continue to help the Iraqi security forces consolidate their control”, he said.

If the US does send additional military “advisers” into Iraq, it won’t be the first time this year it has done so.