WASHINGTON, Apr. 19 (MNA) � US will send 200 more troops to support Iraqi operations to retake the city of Mosul, the Pentagon announced on Monday.


These troops will advise and assist Iraqi forces, according to a source of the Department of Defense.

The decision to send 217 additional troops will raise the number of US troops to 4,087 from 3,870. The Pentagon will also send Apache helicopters for the first time since Washington withdrew its troops from Iraq.

The White House announcement came after weeks of talks with US commanders in Iraq and the Iraqi authorities.

Most of the additional troops are part of the Army Special Forces, which includes advisers, trainers, aviation support crew, and security forces.

These new measures coincide with the visit announced by President Barack Obama to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss with US allies in the Persian Gulf on the crisis in Yemen and Syria.

Obama will be received in audience on Thursday at the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council Summit by the top leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Oman.

By Mehr News Agency