President Barack Obama has approved the additional deployment announced Monday, which will bring the total number of USA servicemen in Iraq to around 4,600.
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In an attempt to recapture the city of Mosul, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced on Monday that the military will be sending an additional 560 troops to Iraq.
On the flight to the Iraqi capital, Carter discussed the seizure of the strategically important Qarayyah airfield from ISIS, saying that Iraqi forces’ control of the installation will likely lead to the establishment of a logistics hub, which would provide Iraqi troops with US support.
The growing number of US troops at Qayyarah are expected to serve as a launching pad for the long-delayed key fight for Mosul, which ISIS has occupied since June 2014 following the collapse of its Iraqi defenders.
Mr Carter told reporters earlier that U.S. advisers are prepared to accompany Iraqi battalions if needed, as those units begin the siege of the key northern city.
President Barack Obama in April approved plans to allow USA troops to assist Iraqi forces at the brigade and battalion level, where they could be at greater risk, closer to the battle, but still behind the front lines.
Backed by USA -led coalition warplanes, Iraqi ground forces and their allies have recaptured several major cities in recent months, including Tikrit, Ramadi and Falluja, and have sought to cut off roads leading to Mosul.
The Qayyarah airbase, which Abadi announced Saturday had been recaptured, is located 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul and can serve as a launchpad for future operations to recapture the city.
Earlier in the day, Carter held meetings with Abadi as well as Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi.
But Islamic State militants still control large swaths of the country and continue to launch deadly attacks, including a massive suicide bombing last week at Baghdad’s bustling commercial area of Karada. Carter was also to meet with USA troops, of whom there are now about 4,000 in Iraq, mainly to train local forces. The Iraqis have struggled to move troops, resources and equipment – tasks that will become even harder as their forces move closer to Mosul, which is 250 miles from their major supply hubs in Baghdad.
Over 200 USA troops, backed by additional American air power and a shipment of heavy weapons, were ordered into Iraq earlier this year to support the Mosul offensive, which administration officials had hoped would be under Iraqi control by the end of the year.
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has reportedly pledged to retake Mosul for ISIS militants by the year’s end.
Engineers and logistics specialists will be among the new deployment, bringing the number of USA personnel in the country to around 4,650.
“We firmly refuse the presence of U.S. troops in Iraqi territories because the Iraqi people refuse to replace ISIL with the Americans”, the PMF commander said in a statement. Gen. Saad Maan, said the troops were “practicing for a planned military parade for a specific occasion”. On July 3, IS carried out the devastating bombing targeting shoppers in Baghdad that killed 292, many of whom were burned alive, sparking widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.
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Iraqi military officials, however, said in interviews Monday that there was substantial damage to the air base that would require significant repairs. USA forces already share intelligence and with their Iraqi counterparts.
