US deploys more troops in Iraq

Washington, July 1: US President Barack Obama said that about 200 troops arrived in Iraq to protect the US embassy in Baghdad amidst fierce fighting in the war-torn country, a media report said Tuesday.

The new troops, who arrived Sunday and Monday, will provide security for the embassy, the Baghdad airport and other facilities in Iraq, CNN quoted Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby as saying.

The deployment includes "a detachment of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, which will bolster airfield and travel route security," Kirby said in a statement.

The 200 troops are part of the 300 US military advisors President Barack Obama ordered to station in Iraq to assess the offensive led by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), that have overrun towns and cities across the country's north and east while continuing to move closer to Baghdad.

The assessment teams mainly comprise the US Army's special forces personnel.

IANS