The following article originally appeared in Rudaw on April 19, 2016.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The US Defense Secretary has announced that they are going to allot $415 million to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and are committing an additional 200 or more troops to the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter was in Baghdad on Monday to finalize the agreement with Iraqi army officials.
The additional troops will be mainly Special Forces, deployed primarily in a training role with the Iraqi forces at the frontlines.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook stated on Twitter that the $415 million commitment to the Peshmerga is to “accelerate momentum in countering ISIL.”
The US has also committed Apache helicopters to aid in the battle to retake Mosul. To date, Apache helicopters have only been used in Iraq to protect American personnel.
The new commitment of troops will bring the number of American forces in Iraq to 4,087, up from 3,870.
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