US Prepared to Send More Troops to Mosul

The United State is prepared to send more troops to Iraq to help reclaim the city of Mosul from Islamic state fighters, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

“In consultation with the Government of Iraq the U.S. is prepared to provide additional US military personnel to train and advise the Iraqis as the planning for the Mosul campaign intensifies,” the senior defense official said.

The U.S. currently has about 4,600 troops in Iraq, not counting some who are there on temporary duty.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s office confirmed in a statement that it had requested “a final increase in the number of American trainers and advisers” to support Iraqi troops in the Northern city of Mosul.

But the United Nations has warned that increased military operations there could displace up to a million people. As of the end of August, the U.N. refugee agency said, about 213,000 people had fled Mosul for different parts of Iraq.

The Pentagon has also warned that Islamic State fighters could use mustard gas to defend Mosul.

Mosul, known as Iraq’s second city, was seized by Islamic State in 2014 and remains a stronghold for the group in the country. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Asia


 

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