US defense chief in Baghdad to step up fight against IS

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter discussed with Iraqi leaders Monday the battle against the Islamic State (IS) militant group, as well as increasing military support to Iraqi forces, reported state television.

Carter arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit, and is scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his Iraqi counterpart Khalid al-Obeidi, in order to discuss America's offer to deploy extra troops to Iraq as advisors to Iraqi forces as they fight the IS militant group.

The Iraqi government issued no official statement regarding Carter's meetings with Iraqi officials so far.

The Pentagon chief's visit comes as reports state that Washington is contemplating ways of increasing its military assistance to Iraq, including potentially sending helicopters and deploying elite American military teams in Iraq to conduct raids against the IS in Iraq and in neighboring Syria.

Hundreds of U.S. Marines are already in Iraq, serving as trainers and advisers, in an attempt to help the country win the battle against IS extremists in Iraq's western province of Anbar as well as in northern Iraq.

Iraq's security situation has drastically deteriorated since June 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and IS militants.

IS took control of the country's northern city of Mosul and later seized territories in Nineveh and other predominantly Sunni provinces.

A U.S.-led international coalition has been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.

Source: XINHUA