Barack Obama confirms that US troops have been sent to Iraq

Following rampant insurgency in Iraq, Barack Obama has sent troops back to the country that are 'equipped for combat'.

16:55 17 June 2014

US President Barack Obama has ordered the urgent deployment of 275 armed troops in and around Iraq as the ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) insurgency worsens. 

 

On Monday, Obama discussed the crisis with his national security team before authorising Congress to send up to 275 troops to Iraq to provide support and security for personnel and the US embassy in Baghdad. 

 

Obama, who previously vowed to keep US troops out of combat in Iraq, said that the troops are “equipped for direct fighting.” 

 

The ISIS-led insurgency has been reported as the worst threat to Iraq since US troops left in 2011. 

 

US and Iranian officials held talks over the crisis on Monday in Vienna, which was on the side lines of separate negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme. 

 

While US secretary of state John Kerry declined to rule out military cooperation, American and Iranian officials later stressed that there was no prospect of military coordination. 

 

Describing the discussions as “brief” Kerry said: “We are open to engaging the Iranians. These engagements will not include military coordination or strategic determinations about Iraq’s future over the heads of the Iraqi people.”