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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President Barack Obama will deploy 560 more troops to Iraq to help retake Mosul, the largest city controlled by the Islamic State, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Monday. Carter said they will help Iraqi security battalions as needed to encircle and eventually retake the key city in ISIS hands since 2014.
USA forces already share intelligence and with their Iraqi counterparts, the defense secretary said, noting he is directing the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency – which leads the department’s efforts to counter improvised explosive device – to provide additional assistance that could enhance security in Baghdad.
Troops from the new deployment will be stationed at Qayara airbase, which was recaptured from IS militants by Iraqi government forces on Saturday.
The deployment will raise the cap on US troops in Iraq to about 4,650.
Carter said the United States is prepared to bolster its support for Iraqi government efforts to protect Iraqi civilians from ISIL terror attacks, according to the release.
The additional troops will provide a range of support for Iraqi Security Forces, including infrastructure and logistical capabilities at the airfield near Qayyarah. “That’s its strategic role, and that’s its strategic importance”.
“So, there will be United States logistics support”.
Still, the latest US force increase comes less than three months after Washington announced it would dispatch about 200 more soldiers to accompany Iraqi troops advancing towards Mosul.Carter told reporters ahead of Monday’s trip that the United States would now help turn Qayara into a logistics hub.
US technical engineering support likely will be needed for bridging because Islamic State has blown up the bridges into Mosul, and police training might also be needed to help stabilize the city once Islamic State has been thrown out.
Baghdad has repeatedly announced its intention to “liberate” Mosul – Iraq’s second largest city – before the end of the year. They weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and demanded anonymity.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the additional troop announcement during a visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, just days after after Iraqi security forces managed to seize a major airbase close to IS-held Mosul. They previously had been limited to advising at headquarters and division levels, further from the battle.
Aside from meeting Prime Minister Abadi Carter will meet Iraq’s Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi and USA soldiers, including the Baghdad-based Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland.
Mosul is considered crucial.
IS captured Mosul in the summer of 2014.
Carter’s daylong visit to Iraq comes on the heels of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit where allies agreed to expand their military support for the war.
“The seizure of the Qayara West airfield. will be followed”.
The recapturing of Hit, Rupta and Ramadi in Iraq were key steps toward splitting the Iraq and Syria battlefields, said one senior defense official. A number of those 10 included retaking some of those cities. As many as 186 were killed.
ISIS has increasingly resorted to ad hoc attacks including a bombing in the Iraqi capital last week that left almost 300 people dead – the most lethal bombing of its kind since the 2003 USA -led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for both attacks.
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Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top USA commander in Iraq, said that the additional troops will “predominantly” be assigned to Qayyarah Air Base, installing everything from additional security measures to communications gear.
