More U.S. Troops Will Be in Combat in Iraq: Military Official

He didn’t outline any fresh commitments specifically, saying plans would be announced only after foreign ministers first consult their governments at home.

Carter’s comments come as the British parliament prepares to debate whether the Royal Air Force should start bombing in Syria.

Since June 2014, Iraq has been ravaged by terrorist attacks carried out by Daesh terrorist group, which has overrun parts of the country and is tyrannizing the civilian population there. Officials said the new unit would be stationed in Iraq, probably near Erbil, and would consist of about 200 USA service members.

By basing them inside Iraq, Carter hopes to increase the frequency of raids – capturing ISIS leaders for interrogation and seizing the information stored on their cell phones and lap tops.

“The Iraqi government stresses that any military operation or presence of any foreign force, special or not, in any place in Iraq can not be done without its approval and co-ordination with it”, the statement said. He said that will improve intelligence and generate more targets for attacks.

“This is an important capability because it takes advantage of what we’re good at”, Carter said.

“We have the best intelligence in the world, Andrea, but even that is not going to be enough”, he added.

“It’s the same mission, not a different one but we need to provide greater assistance in ways that meet with the Iraqi authorities consent and needs”, he said.

“It puts everybody on notice in Syria”. “The Iraqi government wants United States troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory”.

He noted that about 3,500 US troops are operating at six locations in Iraq in support of the ISF. In a reminder of the confrontations that characterized the previous Iraq war, spokesmen for some of Iraq’s powerful Shiite militias threatened to fight any American troops sent to Iraq following Carter’s announcement.

Carter said the force might be American-only, but more likely would be a mixed force with perhaps Kurdish troops or others who are fighting the militants.

“We don’t know yet how many forces are going to be deployed”, she said.

Carter discussed strategy and noted that U.S.-backed Kurdish forces had recently retaken the strategic town of Sinjar and cut off ISIS’s “main line of communication” between Raqqa, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, which are the two biggest cities still under their control. His wife, held in Iraq, has been cooperating with interrogators.

The U.S. military conducted similar operations in Iraq to take out senior Al Qaeda leadership, such as the mission led by Gen. Stanley McChrystal which killed Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June 2006. How Much Has the U.S. Fight Against ISIS Cost?