US Considering Building More Military Bases in Iraq to Counter ISIL

The US is considering establishing additional military bases in Iraq to help the country's military fight extremists. Allegedly it will be "lily pads" – US bases where the military instructors train local forces against jihadists.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Washington is considering establishing additional military bases in Iraq to help the country's military fight extremists, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said Thursday.

According to the New York Times, Dempsey told reporters that a future campaign is possible to establish the so-called "lily pads" – US bases where the military instructors train local forces against extremists.

"You could see one in the corridor from Baghdad to Tikrit to Kirkuk to Mosul," Dempsey said. The new military facility would be based on a base currently under construction in the Anbar governorate.

Such facilities would require extra servicemen, Dempsey added.

The Islamic State militant group has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq in the last year, declared a caliphate on its seized territories and committed many human rights atrocities in both countries.

The US-led coalition has been firing air-to-ground missiles at militant positions in both countries, and has deployed ground forces to train Iraqi soldiers and militias.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama approved sending up to 450 more military personnel to train local Iraqi servicemen. As many as 3,000 US troops are currently in the country.