Dempsey: Future Ground Role for US Military Advisors in Iraq Likely

Local Editor

US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General, Martin Dempsey, said that American military advisers are likely to take a more direct role in the ground campaign in Iraq against extremists once Iraqi forces are ready to go on the offensive, the top US officer said in comments aired on Sunday.


"Mosul will likely be the decisive battle in the ground campaign at some point in the future," Dempsey said in an interview with ABC's "This Week," referring to the northern Iraqi city seized by Daesh in June.

"My instinct at this point is that will require a different kind of advising and assisting because of the complexity of that fight," he said.

Dempsey said that he had not yet encountered a situation where US air strikes would be more effective if US troops were on the ground spotting targets, adding that when Iraqi forces are ready to take the offensive against the extremists, that would likely change.

Some countries meanwhile have criticized the US-led airstrikes, questioning the motives of the US-led bombing campaign.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team