It is the latest escalation of the USA role in the Iraq war by Obama, who ran for office on a pledge to end America’s involvement in the conflict.
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Numerous newly deployed troops will be based at an airfield 40 miles south of Mosul that was reclaimed by Iraqi soldiers on July 9. “I congratulate them on their recent successes and reaffirm that the United States, along with our coalition partners, will continue to do all we can to support Iraq’s effort to serve ISIL a lasting defeat”. A decade ago around 130,000 USA service members were stationed in the country.
United States defence officials say the campaign’s first “10 plays” have been successfully completed in the US-led counter-IS campaign in Iraq and Syria.
Obeidi also asserted that the Iraqi preparations have reached an advanced stage for the liberation of Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh, the statement said, adding the two sides discussed the worldwide support to liberate Nineveh province after the latest victory in Qayyara area. Mr. Obama at one point had declared the US combat mission in Iraq over, but has repeatedly been drawn back into the conflict as Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, grew in strength. The actual troop number is estimated to be around 5,000 American troops.
Iraqi forces were already improving the base’s perimeter in case of a counterattack from the nearby town of Qayara, which Islamic State militants still hold, another USA official in Baghdad said.
Separately, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has said that President Obama must ask Congress for additional funds to pay for the deployment of more troops to Iraq, as Congress and the White House debate defence spending amid mandatory budget cuts.
The announcement occurred as Iraqi soldiers appeared to be gaining momentum on the battlefield.
In 2014, the Iraqi insurgency escalated into a civil war with the conquest of Fallujah and Mosul and major areas in northern Iraq by the Islamic State.
Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid Al-Ubaidi, a Mosul native, has declared that “2016 will be the year of the liberation of Mosul and the rest of Iraq”.
The ultimate goal was “the recapture of all of Iraqi territory by the Iraqi security forces, but of course Mosul is the biggest part of that”, Carter said earlier.
Carter said the general and his staff would bring “that substantial experience and tradecraft that we learned by hard experience in Iraq and Afghanistan”.
IS has turned increasingly to ad hoc attacks, which USA and Iraqi officials have touted as proof that battlefield setbacks are weakening the militants.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Islamic State has a history of carrying out similar attacks in the region. But the facilities are damaged by years of fighting, and may require repairs to be operational.
The advance to the south of Mosul brought the village of Ajhala back under government control to the north of the Qayara Air Base, which was retaken by government forces on July 9.
The airfield has two runways, officials said, making it easier to move supplies and personnel.
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The extra troops, including engineers and logistics experts, would help local forces planning to retake the IS stronghold of Mosul, Mr Carter said.
