Tri-Service
Fight Against ISIS: US Orders More Troops To Iraq
Amid persistent setbacks in the fight against Islamic State, Barack Obama has turned his military's focus to the Sunni-Shiite divide, ordering hundreds of troops to Iraq to integrate Iraqi forces and lay the groundwork to retake Ramadi and other key cities.
The expanded military campaign will set up a new base in Anbar province to advise Iraqi forces on how to plan and organise operations and help them reach out to Sunni tribes and bring them into the battle.
It leaves out any move to send US forces closer to the frontline, either to call in air strikes or advise smaller battlefront units, underscoring the president's reluctance to plunge the military deeper into war.
Under the plan, up to 450 more US troops will deploy to Iraq in the next six to eight weeks and set up a fifth training site at al-Taqaddum, a desert air base that was a US military hub during the 2003-11 war.
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