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Obama Authorizes Deployment of Additional 450 Military Personnel to Iraq

© AP Photo / Jim MacMillan, FileUS Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, run to a building after detonating explosives to open a gate during a mission in Ramadi in Anbar province, Iraq
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, run to a building after detonating explosives to open a gate during a mission in Ramadi in Anbar province, Iraq - Sputnik International
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White House announced that US President Barack Obama has approved sending up to 450 military personnel to train local Iraqi forces.

Iraqi Sunni volunteers from the Anbar province, who joined Iraq's Popular Mobilisation force as part of government efforts to make the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group a cross-sectarian drive, take part in their first training session at a training base in Amriyat al-Fallujah, on May 8, 2015 - Sputnik International
US Plans to Send 400 Military Trainers to Iraq to Combat ISIL
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Sputnik) US President Barack Obama has approved sending up to 450 military personnel to train local Iraqi forces as part of counter Islamic State (ISIL) effort, White House announced in a statement on Wednesday.

“To improve the capabilities and effectiveness of partners on the ground, the President authorized the deployment of up to 450 additional US military personnel to train, advise, and assist Iraqi Security Forces at Taqaddum military base in eastern Anbar province,” the statement said.

The White House explained that the decision was made following a request from Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and upon the recommendation of US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, and received “unanimous support” of Obama’s national security team.

The United States currently has 3,000 troops in Iraq in a training capacity and continues to carry out airstrikes on ISIL positions in Iraq, as well as Syria, where the Sunni radicals have also ceased vast territories.

The airstrikes are part of international US-led coalition efforts to eradicate ISIL, which has become notorious for its brutal tactics and beheadings of western journalists. The coalition was formed by Obama in September 2014, and its military action has been limited to airstrikes.

On the ground, ISIL fighters are being opposed by Iraqi forces and Kurdish militia. However, despite the joint efforts, ISIL has recently made advances in Iraq, capturing Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province located some 80 miles west of Baghdad.

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