US to deploy more troops to Iraq to fight ISIL: General
The US military says it may deploy additional troops to Iraq, even beyond the hundreds announced earlier this week, to help in the fight against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
US Army General Joseph Votel, the head of the US military's Central Command, said on Thursday the size of a possible troop increase is still being discussed within military circles.
"As we continue on the mission, I think there will be some additional troops that we will ask to bring in," Votel said in an interview in Baghdad, Iraq.
"We try to tie our requests to specific objectives we're trying to achieve on the ground," he said.
The general’s comments came just three days after US President Barack Obama's administration announced a 560 troop increase to allegedly fight the Daesh terror group in Iraq and Syria.
The US now has just over 4,600 troops formally assigned to Iraq after the latest troop increase, although the actual figure is higher due to temporary assignments.
Votel said most of those troops will work out of the Qayyarah air base, which Iraqi forces recaptured last week from ISIL terrorists.
The US claims its forces in Iraq are seeking to shore up local militant groups against Daesh.
Earlier in June, Reuters reported that US military officials have admitted the failure of their efforts to “retrain and reunify” Iraq’s regular army and generate enough combat units.
There are also dozens of US special operations forces in Syria, who are working closely with a collection of various armed groups that are trying to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The US has also been supplying the militants with ammunition.
The ISIL terrorists have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq and Syria, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.
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