US to send another 560 troops to Iraq

The United States will send an additional 560 troops to Iraq to help secure a newly retaken airbase as a staging hub for the long-awaited battle to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), defence Secretary Ashton Carter said Monday during an unannounced visit to the country.

Most of the new troops will be devoted to the build-up of the Qayara airbase, about 64 km south of Mosul, and include engineers, logistics personnel and other forces, Carter said. They will help Iraqi security forces planning to encircle and eventually retake the key city.

"These additional US forces will bring unique capabilities to the campaign and provide critical enabler support to Iraqi forces at a key moment in the fight," Carter said, according to prepared remarks.

He revealed President Barack Obama's decision as he spoke to about 120 troops in a building at Baghdad's airport. The increase brings the total US force in Iraq to 4,647, and comes just three months after Obama's last troop addition...
 [aljazeera.com]
11/7/16
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