President Barack Obama has ordered up to 450 more US troops to Iraq.They will train,advise and assist Sunni tribal militia members to battle ISIL at a new training camp in al-Taqaddum Air Base,a former US stronghold in the Iraq War from 2003-11,located at Habbaniya in the largely Sunni Anbar Province.As of last Thursday,8920 Iraqi troops had received US training at the four existing training camps at al-Asad Air Base;Irbil;plus two camps in the Baghdad area;and 2601 Iraqi troops were still in training.Of those who have been trained,800 are Kurds and the rest are Shiites.
Training at al-Taqaddum will likely begin this summer.It is only 22 miles/37 kilometers from Ramadi,the provincial capital recently taken over by ISIL.There are still a lot of engagements with ISIL in the area,so US troops on the training mission will perhaps be closer to the front lines than ever before.ISIL has been using more and bigger IEDs in Anbar Province-so large they are changing the equation on the battlefield.They are also digging extensive tunnels and filling them with explosives.Suicide attacks may be launched against the training camp.
Besides trainers,the US soldiers will be security and logistics personnel.They will still not be allowed to accompany Iraqi troops to the front lines or serve as forward air controllers.
I think it is a Band-Aid on a hemorrhaging strategy,said Senator John McCain,R-Arizona.We need actually thousands of additional troops.*
The 450 new US troops will bring the total number of US forces in Iraq up to about 3600.
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