WASHINGTON – The US may be sending more troops to Iraq soon, the Pentagon’s top military officer said, following reports that there are already some 5,000 American soldiers in Iraq on a regular basis.
The comments by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford on Friday came a day after US Marines provided artillery support to an Iraqi Army operation to liberate several villages outside Mosul, which has been the Islamic State’s (ISIS or ISIL) stronghold in Iraq since the group seized the city in June 2014.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon with US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Dunford said: "The secretary and I both believe that there will be an increase to the US forces in Iraq in the coming weeks."
“In both Syria and Iraq we're seeing important steps to shape what will become crucial battles in the months to come,” Carter told reporters, according to the Department of Defense (DoD) website.
“As local partners move forward, the coalition continues to bring relentless pressure on ISIL commanders in Mosul, the secretary added,” according to the website.
Earlier this week, CNN quoted a US defense official as saying that there are currently between 4,500 and 5,000 troops in Iraq on a regular basis, about 1,000 over the stated limit of 3,800. They include 200 Special Operations Forces, whose presence is not publicly acknowledged, the official said.
The comments by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford on Friday came a day after US Marines provided artillery support to an Iraqi Army operation to liberate several villages outside Mosul, which has been the Islamic State’s (ISIS or ISIL) stronghold in Iraq since the group seized the city in June 2014.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon with US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Dunford said: "The secretary and I both believe that there will be an increase to the US forces in Iraq in the coming weeks."
“In both Syria and Iraq we're seeing important steps to shape what will become crucial battles in the months to come,” Carter told reporters, according to the Department of Defense (DoD) website.
“As local partners move forward, the coalition continues to bring relentless pressure on ISIL commanders in Mosul, the secretary added,” according to the website.
Earlier this week, CNN quoted a US defense official as saying that there are currently between 4,500 and 5,000 troops in Iraq on a regular basis, about 1,000 over the stated limit of 3,800. They include 200 Special Operations Forces, whose presence is not publicly acknowledged, the official said.
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