Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the USA will send 560 more troops to Iraq.
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Speaking before he arrived in Baghdad, Carter said the airbase would be one hub from which “Iraqi security forces, accompanied and advised by us as needed, will complete the southern-most envelopment of Mosul”.
Back in December and January, President Barack Obama and Carter laid out 10 strategic goals – some of them geographical, some of them functional – that needed to occur before Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the Syrian counter-IS forces could retake Raqqah and Mosul, Islamic State’s de-facto capital in Syria and largest stronghold in Iraq.
During his visit to Iraq in April, Carter unveiled a series of moves to provide additional military support to the Iraqis, including the deployment of 200 more USA troops to Iraq, embedding advisers with Iraqi brigades and battalions, and using Apache attack helicopters at the request of the Iraqi government, when they were needed in battle. He is expected to be named as President Barack Obama’s choice as new Secretary of Defense, according to several USA administration officials.
“We will provide more if and when the Iraqi Security Forces can make good use of them, and Prime Minister Abadi requests them”, Carter said.
The Pentagon said the new US forces will include engineers, logistics personnel and other military advisors, and that Qayara will “become a vital springboard” to retake Mosul.
USA officials said Carter would meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi in Baghdad. Residents of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, should “get ready for the liberation of their areas”, he said.
Carter laid out the USA vision for Qayara for the first time, describing its recapture as a key strategic victory.
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.
“Despite the summer heat, our Iraqi partners – with your intrepid support – pressed ahead with the fight and cleared one town after another, dealing ISIL a series of blows”, Carter told USA troops at Baghdad’s airport, using an acronym for the militant group.
A senior defense official says it’s unclear when US advisers would begin accompanying the battalions, but it could be in the coming weeks and months.
Carter is scheduled to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi and U.S. Army Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, the head of the U.S. -led coalition against ISIL, Reuters reported. It has used the city as a main headquarters since.
The visit came in less than three months after Carter’s previous one in April when he discussed with Iraqi leaders America’s offer to deploy extra troops as advisors to Iraqi forces.
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On July 3, ISIS 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.
