US military advisors arrive in Iraq to train security forces

Dozens of US military advisors arrived in Iraq Wednesday to train the country's security forces as they continue to face obstacles in their fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, officials said.

In western Iraq, up to 100 US advisors arrived at two air bases in the volatile province of Anbar and are expected to start training of the Iraqi troops to battle IS militants, who have seized large parts of the province, Sabah Karhout, head of the provincial council, told reporters.

"Habaniyah air base in east of the provincial capital city of Ramadi and Asad air base near the town of Baghdadi, received 100 US military advisors," Xinhua quoted Karhout as saying.

"The US advisors will train and advise the Iraqi troops, including police and government-backed tribal fighters, in their fight against the Islamic State in the militant-seized cities and towns in the Anbar province," he added.

Since December last year, insurgent attacks have continued in the Sunni Arab heartland from the west of Baghdad to the Anbar province, which has witnessed fierce clashes that flared up after Iraqi police dismantled a Sunni anti-government protest site outside the city of Ramadi.

Meanwhile, the IS is reportedly advancing on Iraq's capital, Baghdad, as media reported that hit-and-run clashes have been going on for more than a week between the IS militants and Iraqi security forces battling for control of the Abu Ghraib area and Baghdad international airport.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, another group of US military advisors arrived in the Karkosh military base in the early morning hours, a source from Dijlah Operations Command, told Xinhua on the condition of anonymity.

"This is the first group of American advisors that reached Diyala province after the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq late in 2011. Their mission is supervising and providing advice in training the Iraqi security forces, to improve their fighting skills in confronting the terrorist gangs," the source, whose command is responsible for security in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk and Salahudin, said without detailing the number of the advisors.