U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Iraq on Saturday to meet his commanders and assess the progress in the opening days of the operation to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants.
Mr. Carter will meet Iraqi leaders and military commanders to determine how the fight is going and whether or not any changes, increased resources or other assistance is needed.
His meetings in Turkey signalled moves to tamp down escalating tensions between Turkey and Iraq over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq. The divide has only grown as the operation to retake Mosul began to take shape.
There are some 500 Turkish troops at a base north of Mosul who have been training Sunni and Kurdish fighters since last December. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.
The U.S. service member killed earlier this week was the fourth U.S. combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began military operations against the Islamic State in August 2014. It was the first since the Mosul operation began, and the service member was working with Iraqi special forces northeast of Mosul and serving as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist.
IS assault kills 14 in kirkuk Meanwhile, IS attacked targets in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday in a coordinated assault that killed at least 14 people.
Mr. Carter is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as other top officials.
The U.S. estimates there are between 3,000 and 5,000 IS militants in the Mosul area, but some of the top leaders have likely fled the city. A key factor will be how long those mid-level commanders stay in the city, or if they decide to leave.
The U.S. is uncertain how hard IS will defend Mosul. But, once the fighting gets to the centre of the city, IS will have certain advantages that are more favourable for the use of snipers and the restriction of vehicle movement.
More than 4,800 U.S. troops are in Iraq and there are more than 100 U.S. special operations forces operating with Iraqi units. Hundreds more U.S. forces are playing a support role in staging bases farther from the front lines.
