Car bombing in Baghdad Shiite district kills 11 people

The Pentagon crossed a critical threshold Monday when Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he was ordering 560 more USA troops to Iraq for the express objective of taking back the two major cities held by ISIS.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is in Afghanistan to meet with U.S. commanders in the wake of a pledge by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to keep troop levels stable as they battle a resilient Taliban.

Troops from the new deployment will be stationed at Qayara airbase, which was recaptured from IS militants by Iraqi government forces on Saturday. They will assist Iraqi forces planning to encircle and eventually retake the biggest city anywhere that has fallen under IS’ control.

US forces have already visited Qayara to check on its condition, and advisors can offer specialised engineering support in Mosul, US officials said. They boost the total USA troop presence in Iraq to about 6,000 and represent a 10% increase of US troops in the country.

Iraqi military officials, however, said in interviews Monday that there was substantial damage to the air base that would require significant repairs. Officials weren’t authorized to talk about the airfield publicly and demanded anonymity. “I congratulate them on their recent successes and reaffirm that the United States, along with our coalition partners, will continue to do all we can to support Iraq’s effort to serve ISIL a lasting defeat”, he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

The Islamic State, also known as Daesh in Arabic, has controlled Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul for the past two years. Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed at the fire base in March in an IS rocket attack.

FILE – Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (front 2nd L) walks during his visit to an Iraqi army base in Camp Tariq near Fallujah, Iraq, June 1, 2016.

Two sections of the Iraqi force met up after a pincer movement.

American advisers are working at brigade level with Iraqi special operations forces, but haven’t accompanied them on operations.

Iraqi government forces deployed across Baghdad on Tuesday, closing off main roads and snarling traffic.

A massive truck bombing struck a bustling commercial area in a Baghdad’s predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Karada, killing 292 people – one of the deadliest attacks since the 2003 US-led invasion. So long as ISIS controls them, would-be jihadists will be enticed to launch attacks in the name of the existing Islamic State caliphate. As many as 186 were killed.