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                 US Deploys Military Advisers to Northern Iraq

   by VOA News

   The United States has deployed another 130 military advisers to
   northern Iraq to help find ways to assist displaced Iraqis who are
   trapped on a mountain by Sunni Muslim extremists.

   U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed Tuesday that the deployment
   to the city of Erbil is limited to advising Iraqi security forces.

   "As the president has made very clear, we're not going back into Iraq,
   in any of the same combat mission dimensions that we once were in in
   Iraq. Very specifically this is not a combat boots on the ground
   operation. We're not going to have that kind of operation," said Hagel.

   The Pentagon announced a similar deployment of up to 300 military
   advisers to Baghdad in June.

   U.S. planes have been carrying out airdrops to get supplies to the
   thousands of civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar.

   The military said late Tuesday it had conducted a sixth set of airdrops
   containing food and water, bringing the total amount of aid delivered
   so far to 100,000 meals and 27,000 gallons of water.

   With the help of Kurdish forces in the region, more than 20,000 of the
   refugees have managed to escape Sinjar in the past few days.

   In Brussels, the 28-member European Union failed to agree Tuesday on a
   deal to supply weapons to Iraqi Kurds battling militants from the
   Islamic State group.

   But the EU said individual member countries can strike arms deals with
   Baghdad, as part of a push to blunt the militants' push in Iraq's north
   and west.

   Earlier this week, Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani asked the
   international community for help in fighting the militants, whose
   far-reaching and brutal offensive against Kurds and other minorities
   has sent shock waves through world capitals.

   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday joined a chorus
   of world leaders in calling for international protection for minorities
   fleeing the militant onslaught. Ban said he is dismayed by the group's
   "barbaric acts" as it has seized towns and cities across eastern Syria
   and northwest Iraq.

   In Baghdad, international backing grew Tuesday for Iraqi Prime
   Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi, picked Monday to form a new
   government in Baghdad.

   Kurdish President Barzani told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in a phone
   call that he is ready to work with Abadi to confront the nation's
   security threat.

   The United States, NATO, Saudi Arabia and Iran have voiced support for
   Abadi, countering incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's push to
   extend his eight-year rule with a third term.

   Maliki has rapidly lost the support of the international community, and
   is widely accused of failing to unite Iraq's various factions during
   his eight-year tenure.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-deploys-military-advisers-to-north
   ern-iraq/2411634.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-deploys-military-advisers-to-northern-iraq/2411634.html