American troops battle ISIS for first time as they see off attempted attack by milita

By Corey Charlton
Dec. 18, 2014

A number of militants have been killed in Islamic State's very first battle with U.S. ground troops after the extremists attempted to overrun an Iraqi military base.

The militants attacked Ein al-Asad military base on Sunday where more than 100 U.S. military support troops are based.

Despite launching the surprise attack just after midnight, ISIS's offensive was swiftly repelled when U.S. troops and F18 jets joined in the skirmish in support of the Iraqi Army.

Ein al-Asad came under repeated attack by ISIS troops in October, however, now bolstered by the U.S. assistance, it poses a much more formidable target.

Sheikh Mahmud Nimrawi, a tribal leader in the region, said 'US forces intervened because ISIS started to come near the base, which they are stationed in, so (it was) out of self-defense,' Shafaq News reported.

He added: 'We have made progress in (the) al-Dolab area, in which ISIS has withdrawn from.'

During the Iraq War, it was the largest airbase located within Iraq's Anbar province.

Although it scaled down in size following the conclusion of the war, it remains in use by the Iraq Army and is located deep within the remote areas on the front line against ISIS.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces have launched an operation to retake the town

(Excerpt)

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ttack-militants-Iraqi-base.html#ixzz3MItBzN5Y

So quietly Obama is increasing troop presence in Iraq. As of January 1st, 2015 there will be more than 3,000 American troops 'training' Iraqis. We have already seen American soldiers leading Iraqi's in battle as shown above. My prediction of more than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by March 2015 is still probable.




Top Islamic State leaders killed; more US troops heading to Iraq in a couple of weeks
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics...-us-troops-going-to-iraq-in-a-couple-of-weeks
There are currently about 1,700 U.S. troops in Iraq, and President Barack Obama has authorized up to 3,000. More than 1,000 U.S. troops are expected to be…

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Associated Press
December 18, 2014


Two senior Islamic State group leaders were killed in U.S. and coalition airstrikes in northern Iraq over the last week, U.S. officials said Thursday, as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved new orders for several hundred troops to deploy to Iraq to train Iraqi forces.

**(snip)**

There are currently about 1,700 U.S. troops in Iraq, and President Barack Obama has authorized up to 3,000. More than 1,000 U.S. troops are expected to be deployed in the coming weeks to increase the effort to advise and assist Iraq units at the higher headquarters levels and also to conduct training at several sites around the country.


(Excerpt)

Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...84da1e-86d6-11e4-abcf-5a3d7b3b20b8_story.html

Nah, there's no mission creep here.... Obama tells us so. My previous statement of more than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by March 2015 still stands...