More American soldiers are being deployed to Iraq to assist local security forces trying to retake land captured by the Islamic State (ISIL).
During a trip to Iraq on Monday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced plans to send 217 additional US troops to the country, expanding the Pentagon’s ongoing train and advise program. The latest deployments will bring the total US soldier count in Iraq to above 4,000 for the first time since 2011, when President Obama ordered a full withdrawal from the country.
The new troop deployments will overtly require American soldiers to operate closer to the front lines than in previous assignments. Most of the newly stationed soldiers will be special forces, embedded with Iraqi troops closer to enemy fire.
Last October, Secretary Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it should expect US troops to take a more aggressive role in Iraq and Syria.
Soldiers “will be in harm’s way, no question about it,” he told the panel in October.
A week prior, Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, was killed during a hostage-rescue mission in Northern Iraq. Carter claimed that such activities are still part its original train and advise mission in Iraq, and that lawmakers should expect “more raids of this kind.”
Also on Monday, the Pentagon announced that it is sending Apache attack helicopters and rocket systems to Iraq, to provide more firepower in the counter-ISIL fight.
The Obama administration’s move to beef up the US presence in the country comes as the Iraqi army prepares to retake Mosul–a major Iraqi city that has been under ISIL control since the summer of 2014. US officials believe an invasion of the city is still likely a year away.
Last December, Iraqi troops, with the help of US forces, retook the city of Ramadi from the Islamic State.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced a fresh round of ISIL-targeted bombing in the region, including three strikes in Syria and 17 in Iraq.
According to Airwars.org, the Pentagon and coalition partners have launched 7,894 airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq since the campaign began in August 2014, plus another 3,783 strikes in neighboring Syria. The organization also reported that more than 1,000 civilians have likely been killed in those assaults.
