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Dozens of US troops on ground in Iraq's Anbar province

WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD - The United States has deployed a team of about 50 troops to an air base in Iraq's fiercely contested Anbar province to lay the groundwork for an advisory mission at the core of its campaign against Islamic State militants, officials said on Monday.

 

President Barack Obama's administration announced last week plans to send up to 1,500 more forces to Iraq, roughly doubling the US troop presence there as it expands its mission and starts training Iraqi forces.

 

The decision expands the scope of the campaign and the geographic distribution of forces, including the first deployment of US advisers to Iraq's western Anbar province, much of which is controlled by Islamic State forces. As part of those plans, a small group of US troops is conducting a site survey of facilities for potential future use at Ain al-Asad air base, the largest in Anbar, US officials told Reuters.

 

"I can confirm that approximately 50 US military personnel are visiting al-Asad (air base)," said Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman at the US military's Central Command.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.11.14, 01:19