British troops head to Iraq

BRITAIN IS planning on sending hundreds of troops to Iraq to help train Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State militants, authorities said Saturday.

The new deployment is the most significant commitment of ground troops by Great Britain since it withdrew from Iraq three years ago, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The surge was announced hours after two Iraqi pilots were killed when a military helicopter was shot down by ISIS fighters, officials said.

The attack took place in Samarra, a Shiite holy city about 60 miles north of Baghdad.