The announcement, which will bring the total authorised number of American military personnel in Iraq to more than 4,600, came two days after Baghdad announced the recapture of a base south of Mosul that is seen as an important step toward the eventual battle for the city.
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Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the success as a key step toward Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
The deployment of 560 additional troops will bring the official number of United States service members to 4,647 in war-torn Iraq.
The latest U.S. surge comes less than three months after Washington announced it would dispatch about 200 more soldiers to accompany Iraqi troops advancing towards Mosul.
However, there is still debate in Washington about the timing of a move on Mosul.
Defense Department officials have said there are approximately more than 5,000 Americans in Iraq.
In a US -backed offensive, the Iraqi army has recaptured the cities of Ramadi and Falluja from Islamic State in recent months.
The top USA commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday that “some hundreds” of US forces – in addition to the 8,400 that President Barack Obama announced would stay in the country last week – will be based outside Afghanistan, but will be ready to quickly deploy into the warzone if needed.
Troops from the new deployment will be stationed at Qayara airbase, which was recaptured from IS militants by Iraqi government forces on Saturday. Carter told reporters ahead of Monday’s trip that the United States would now help turn Qayara into a logistics hub.
The developments followed two large-scale attacks last week, claimed by the Islamic State group, in which more than 300 people were killed.
The decision to extend support to Iraqi forces is based on a recommendation made by the Defence Secretary, as well as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, US Central Command commander General Joseph Votel, and Operation Inherent Resolve commander lieutenant general Sean MacFarland.
Suicide bombings like the one in Baghdad on July 3 that killed almost 300 people, one of the largest attacks since the USA -led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago, suggest the group could remain a long-term threat.
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“In fact, it demonstrates (Islamic State’s) strength and long-term survival skills”, terrorism expert Hassan Hassan wrote in a recent article.
