US to send 1,500 more troops for non-combat role in Iraq
euronews (in English)
2014-11-08
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President Barack Obama has authorised the deployment of another 1,500 US troops to Iraq.
The soldiers will boost Iraqi forces fighting the militant group Islamic State following a request from Iraq’s government.
Their role will be non-combat and it’s believed they could be in place before the end of the year.
“It is being done now because the Iraqis have reached, they have demonstrated, the willingness and the skills to go after ISIL, so they have reached the point, where they need additional help and guidance,” Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
The new troops will train nine Iraqi army and three Kurdish Peshmerga brigades in several sites.
They will join several hundred military advisers who are already assisting the Iraqi army.
The Pentagon also announced the US military would be setting up what it called “advise and assist operations centres” outside Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil.
The soldiers will boost Iraqi forces fighting the militant group Islamic State following a request from Iraq’s government.
Their role will be non-combat and it’s believed they could be in place before the end of the year.
“It is being done now because the Iraqis have reached, they have demonstrated, the willingness and the skills to go after ISIL, so they have reached the point, where they need additional help and guidance,” Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.
The new troops will train nine Iraqi army and three Kurdish Peshmerga brigades in several sites.
They will join several hundred military advisers who are already assisting the Iraqi army.
The Pentagon also announced the US military would be setting up what it called “advise and assist operations centres” outside Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil.
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