US to Add 200 More Troops, Apache Helicopters Against ISIS in Iraq

The Iraqi government has said Mosul, which is still under ISIS control, is its next major target.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter. (Photo: Reuters)

The US will add 200 more troops and Apache helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq amid push to retake key city of Mosul, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday.

Carter made an unannounced visit to Baghdad, Iraq on Monday to meet US military commanders and Iraqi officials and to discuss offering more help in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), possibly including sending in more US troops, officials said.

Carter would meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi and discuss ways to build on recent gains against the militant group, which also controls large parts of neighbouring Syria, the US officials added.

They declined to say what kind of assistance would be offered but said it would likely include more US troops on the ground.

Whenever we’re talking about additional capabilities, it usually means some small numbers of additional troops.

US official said before the unannounced visit

Iraq’s army, trained by US military officers and backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition, last week retook the Hit region, pushing it further north along the Euphrates valley.

The Iraqi government has designated Mosul, the largest Iraqi city which is still under ISIS control, as its next major target. It retook the western city of Ramadi in December.

“The fight of Iraq is the fight for Mosul. Mosul is the end game in Iraq,” a senior US defense official said, on condition of anonymity.

It’s a very large urban scenario ... We are going to need to be more aggressive, the Iraqis are asking us to be more aggressive.