Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — The Obama administration is poised to send hundreds of additional military advisers to Iraq, ABC News has confirmed.
The shift comes after the self-declared Islamic State has made several battleground gains in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks.
“As the President has noted, we are considering a range of options to accelerate the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces in order to support them in taking the fight to ISIL,” NSC spokesperson Ali Baskey told ABC News. “Those options include sending additional trainers to Iraq.”
U.S. officials confirm a decision to expand the training effort to Iraqi troops and Sunni tribesmen could require an additional 400 to 500 US troops as trainers. No final decision has yet been made but could come in a matter of days.
A U.S. official confirms that the focus will be on defeating ISIS in Anbar Province, where ISIS completed a takeover of the capital city of Ramadi last month. The plans will include the opening of another training site in Anbar Province, as Iraqi security forces prepare for an offensive to retake Ramadi.
The official stressed that an Iraqi offensive to retake Ramadi could take place before a decision about moving forward with more training and a new training site.
The coalition currently conducts training for Iraqi military troops at four bases for conventional troops and another for special operations forces.
Once Anbar is reclaimed, the focus will shift to recapturing Mosul, which has been under ISIS control for a year now.
The U.S. currently has 3,080, just under the cap of 3,100, but that number fluctuates daily between 3,000 to 3,100.
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