“Today a number of 80 American trainers and advisers has arrived in Habbaniya military base, east of Ramadi, and was welcomed by local forces and provincial officials,” a source form Anbar provincial council told Rudaw on condition of anonymity.
The US forces will use Al Taqqadum, an Iraqi base near the town of Habbaniya in eastern Anbar province, as their training center, the White House said in a statement released last week.
The deployment followed Baghdad’s call for more international support against ISIS after Iraqi forces were defeat in Sunni-majority city Ramadi, capital of Anbar province.
“These new advisers will work to build capacity of Iraqi forces, including local tribal fighters, to improve their ability to plan, lead and conduct operations against ISIL in eastern Anbar under the command of the prime minister,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said in a statement .
The Shiite militias, known collectively as Hashd al-Shaabi, have expressed reluctance to work with US troop. A senior leader has publicly asked “to let Iraqis liberate Iraq by themselves.”
The White House has made it clear that any deployment will be for training and advising purpose and no US forces will directly fight in the war.
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