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US deploys more troops on the ground in Iraq

Sunday, 20 March 2016 7:03 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 20 March 2016 7:01 PM ]

US and British soldiers chat at the Basmaya base, southeast of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, January 27, 2016. (AFP photo)

More US Marines have been deployed on the ground in Iraq purportedly to support the Baghdad government in its fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

The US military said in a statement on Sunday that the soldiers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) would add to the American forces already in the Arab country allegedly battling the terrorist group.

It also noted that US forces were deployed after consultation with the Iraqi government.

"In consultation with the Government of Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) has assigned a detachment of US Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit [MEU] to the support of Iraqi Security Force and Coalition ground operations. The detachment from the 26th MEU will add to the Marines and Sailors currently in Iraq in support of the CJTF-OIR campaign to defeat Da'esh," the statement read.

The US has already deployed a large number of ground troops at a military base near Makhmur, a district located around 45 miles southeast of the militant-held city of Mosul and 170 miles north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

On Saturday, a US Marine was killed and several others were wounded at the base after it was targeted in a rocket attack by Daesh militants.

Washington says its troops fight against Daesh terrorists and train the Iraqi forces. However, Washington has come under fire for its ineffective military intervention in Iraq.

Since late September 2014, the US, along with some of its allies, has purportedly been conducting airstrikes against Daesh extremists inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. The airstrikes in Syria are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against alleged Daesh positions in Iraq, which started in August last year.

This photo shows a formation of US Navy F-18E Super Hornets in flight over northern Iraq, on September 23, 2014. ©AFP

The Iraqi government has announced that it is preparing to conduct a major operation to liberate Mosul. It has already deployed thousands of soldiers at an army base in northern Iraq.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh Takfiri terrorists began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.

Violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq since the Daesh offensive in June 2014.

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