U.S. to Send 1,500 More Troops to Iraq

President Obama has authorized the deployment of an additional 1,500 U.S. troops to Iraq in the coming months, the Defense Department announced today. The move will double the number of advisors sent to assist Iraqi and Kurdish security forces in the battle against the Islamic State.

The U.S. military advisors will also establish a number of additional training sites across Iraq, in a significant expansion of the American involvement in the war. A number of new advisors will be deployed to the restive Anbar province.

The Pentagon said the decision to increase the number of advisor deployed to Iraq was based on United States Central Command’s assessment of Iraqi military units, the progress Iraqi security forces have made since June, and in concert with the development of a coalition plan to defend key areas and go on offensive against ISIL.

A Pentagon official said Friday that a group of military advisors will assist Iraqi troops at the brigade level, and a second group would train troops.