US War Chief Arrives in Iraq on Surprise Visit

Local Editor

US War Secretary Ash Carter flew into Iraq Monday to discuss offering more help in the fight against Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri "ISIS" group], possibly including sending in more US troops, officials said.

Carter would meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and War Minister Khaled al-Obaidi and discuss ways to build on recent gains against the militant group, which also controls large parts of neighboring Syria, the US officials added.

They declined to say what kind of assistance would be offered, but said it would likely include more US troops on the ground.

"Whenever we're talking about additional capabilities, it usually means some small numbers of additional troops," the US official said before the unannounced visit.

Iraq's army, trained by the US military officers and backed by airstrikes from a US-led coalition, last week retook the Hit region, pushing it further north along the Euphrates valley.

The Iraqi government has designated Mosul, the largest Iraqi city still under Daesh control, as its next major target. It retook the western city of Ramadi in December.

"The fight of Iraq is the fight for Mosul. Mosul is the end game in Iraq," a senior US military official said, on condition of anonymity. "It's a very large urban scenario ... We are going to need to be more aggressive, the Iraqis are asking us to be more aggressive."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team