They will primarily be tasked with transforming an air base retaken this month from IS into a staging hub for the long-awaited battle to recapture Mosul – Iraq’s second-largest city – from Islamic State militants.
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“With the retaking of Qayara West airfield, the Iraqi Security Forces have once again demonstrated a serious will to fight”, Mr. Carter said.
In Baghdad on Monday, Carter announced the U.S.is sending 560 additional troops to Iraq as part of the stepped-up fight against the “cancer” of ISIS. Last week, the president announced the US would keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan indefinitely.
The move should be seen as the US trying “to remove ISIS from Iraq”, he said, noting that the terror group is “a threat to the stability of that entire region”, as well as that of Europe and the USA, “and stability is a good”, he added.
He also said he has offered Iraqi leaders additional help in learning how to detect and counter explosives and roadside bombs, in order to enhance security in Baghdad, where there have been several recent deadly attacks.
Nicholson told reporters he will have about 3,000 US troops working as advisers in Afghanistan, roughly 2,150 troops doing counterterrorism and 3,300 working in supporting roles. It’s not clear when exactly that will happen. Carter said the U.S.is also prepared to step up its efforts to help vetted Syrian forces willing to take on ISIL.
Iraqi military officials said in interviews Monday that there was substantial damage to the air base that would require significant repairs. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
The fresh wave of violence in Baghdad prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to sack a number of high-ranking officials responsible for security in the capital, including the head of the Baghdad Operations Command.
Carter called it a strategic victory.
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By reclaiming the six villages which include Jarat the Iraqi troops now have under their control the main road that links Qayara to Shargat, said Hevidar Ahmed, Rudaw correspondent on the front. Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed there in March in an IS rocket attack.
