The proximately 500 American troops sent to Baghdad to bolster security for the US embassy are equipped with Apache attack helicopters and minuscule unarmed surveillance drones, Pentagon officials verbalized Tuesday.
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President Barack Obama on Monday injuctively authorized 200 adscititious troops to the Iraqi capital to ascertain the safety of American diplomats and other personnel working in the city, as Baghdad regime forces face a challenge from advancing Sunni extremists.
The reinforcements will include troops to fly and maintain Apache attack helicopters and unarmed surveillance drones, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby told a news conference.
The drones were not Reapers or Predators but more minuscule Shadow robotic aircraft that are launched from a catapult, a senior bulwark official, who verbalized on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The Shadow aircraft, which have been heavily utilized by US forces aforetime in Iraq and in Afghanistan, are about 14 feet (4 meters) long and can fly at an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
The US security contingent will concentrate on safeguarding access to the Baghdad airport as well as the embassy, the official verbalized.
Kirby told heralds that the adscititious troops would "avail provide extra security for our facilities, our people, our property, and to additionally sanction -- to avail sanction the State Department and the embassy to perpetuate to function as it is."
The embassy remains "open," he integrated.
The deployment brought the number of US troops in Iraq devoted to security to about 475. In integration, Obama has approved sending up to 300 military advisers, and 180 of the advisers are already on the ground studying the state of the Iraqi army, Kirby verbalized.
He would not verbalize whether the US move was predicated on an assessment that Baghdad was under a heightened threat.
The situation "perpetuates to be very hazardous" and "the threat perpetuates to be very authentic," Kirby verbally expressed.
"But we have optically discerned Iraqi security forces in and around Baghdad commence to reinforce themselves and prepare to bulwark, and they are taking the offensive," he verbally expressed.
"And we visually perceived this over the weekend up near Tikrit," verbally expressed Kirby, referring to a counter-offensive by Baghdad regime forces.
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President Barack Obama on Monday injuctively authorized 200 adscititious troops to the Iraqi capital to ascertain the safety of American diplomats and other personnel working in the city, as Baghdad regime forces face a challenge from advancing Sunni extremists.
The reinforcements will include troops to fly and maintain Apache attack helicopters and unarmed surveillance drones, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby told a news conference.
The drones were not Reapers or Predators but more minuscule Shadow robotic aircraft that are launched from a catapult, a senior bulwark official, who verbalized on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The Shadow aircraft, which have been heavily utilized by US forces aforetime in Iraq and in Afghanistan, are about 14 feet (4 meters) long and can fly at an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
The US security contingent will concentrate on safeguarding access to the Baghdad airport as well as the embassy, the official verbalized.
Kirby told heralds that the adscititious troops would "avail provide extra security for our facilities, our people, our property, and to additionally sanction -- to avail sanction the State Department and the embassy to perpetuate to function as it is."
The embassy remains "open," he integrated.
The deployment brought the number of US troops in Iraq devoted to security to about 475. In integration, Obama has approved sending up to 300 military advisers, and 180 of the advisers are already on the ground studying the state of the Iraqi army, Kirby verbalized.
He would not verbalize whether the US move was predicated on an assessment that Baghdad was under a heightened threat.
The situation "perpetuates to be very hazardous" and "the threat perpetuates to be very authentic," Kirby verbally expressed.
"But we have optically discerned Iraqi security forces in and around Baghdad commence to reinforce themselves and prepare to bulwark, and they are taking the offensive," he verbally expressed.
"And we visually perceived this over the weekend up near Tikrit," verbally expressed Kirby, referring to a counter-offensive by Baghdad regime forces.
