Defense Secretary Ash Carter has announced that 615 additional American troops will head to Iraq to assist the country's military in its future offensive to re-take Mosul from ISIS.
Currently the United States has 4,565 military personnel in Iraq who are training, advising and assisting Iraq's military in the fight against ISIS. With the additional increase, the authorized troop number for Iraq will rise to 5,262.
Carter made the announcement while traveling in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He told reporters traveling with him that the additional troops would "further enable" Iraqi forces engaged in the future offensive on Mosul.
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced in a statement posted on his official website that the Obama administration had accepted a request for additional American troops to help support an offensive on Mosul.
Abadi said the additional troops would "provide support for security forces and the Iraqi heroes in the fight looming in the liberation of Mosul." He emphasized that the American troops would continue to serve as advisers and that the combat mission to liberate Mosul would be done by Iraqi troops.
Senior U.S. military officials have said in recent weeks that training has been completed for the 8 to 12 Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga brigades that would be used in the offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS.
They have said that the Iraqi government is prepared to launch an operation in October to press towards Mosul, if the Iraqi government decides to move forward with that plan.
An estimated 6,000 ISIS fighters remain in Mosul, where they have been building up defenses in preparation for an Iraqi military offensive.
The vast majority of American troops in Iraq, or about 3,765, are in support roles for the Iraqi military. The actual number of American military advisors in Iraq is about 100 personnel and an additional 450 serve as military trainers. The additional 800 protect American personnel and facilities.'
Wednesday's increased troop levels mark the tenth time that the number of American forces have been increased since 275 American troops were deployed to Baghdad in June, 2014 as ISIS approached the city.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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