US troops enter Anbar

‘NEW PHASE’: PLANS UNDER WAY TO DOUBLE NUMBER OF SOLDIERS IN IRAQ American officials have insisted military personnel will not engage in combat.

Ateam of United States troops was on the ground in Iraq’s frontline Anbar province yesterday as Washington stepped up efforts to help Iraqi forces battle the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

The Pentagon confirmed about 50 military personnel were at Al-Asad air base to prepare the way for a larger contingent of advisers and trainers to assist Iraqi security forces.

President Barack Obama has announced plans to double the number of American troops in Iraq to 3 000, as US-led efforts against the jihadists enter what he called a “new phase”.

Parts of mainly Sunni Anbar province have become a stronghold for IS and Iraqi forces have been retreating in recent weeks, falling back to the Asad air base.

The desert airfield was a sprawling hub for American troops and aircraft during the 2003 to 2011 occupation of Iraq.

A string of battlefield defeats for Iraqi forces has led to warnings Anbar – which stretches from borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the western approach to Baghdad – could fall entirely.

Sunni extremist group IS has seized control of large parts of Iraq and Syria, declaring an Islamic “caliphate” in June and committing widespread atrocities.

Its influence has steadily grown, with Egypt’s deadliest militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis on Monday pledging allegiance to Islamic State.

Washington has forged an alliance of Western and Arab nations to take on the group and launched a barrage of air strikes in Syria and Iraq on IS positions.

One of the strikes on Friday was reported to have hit a gathering of IS leaders, but there has been no confirmation of reports IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wounded or killed.

US officials have insisted the mission will not see American troops engage in combat and are instead pushing for local forces to tackle IS on the ground.