US defense officials have stated that the new force will consist mostly of Army special operators and the remaining troops will be made up of trainers, security forces and maintenance teams for the Apaches. The new Army special operators will serve primarily in advice and will be assisted in teams that are embedded with Iraqi forces.
Earlier the US advisers have typically worked with Iraqi troops at the headquarters level and are away from the front lines. The move follows discussions between the President Barack Obama, Iraqi leaders and US commanders on the ground in Iraq.
The Iraqi government has been deploying federal forces to northern Iraq to prepare for an offensive against Mosul and in addition of Apache attack helicopters for the first time they will provide forces on the ground with precision fire during the fight.
Mr Obama is travelling to Saudi Arabia later by this week to have discussion with the Gulf leaders about the fight against the extremist group in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East and the US officials have been working with Iraqi leaders to negotiate the American help for the fight against IS.
