New front to seize Iraq's Mosul from IS

Smoke is seen as members of the Iraqi Army clash with Islamic State fighters at a frontline in north west of Mosul, Iraq, May 5, 2017.

Islamic State's defeat in Mosul will not mean the end of the hardline Sunni group which remains in control of parts of Syria and vast swathes of Iraqi territory near the Syrian border.

Any forces who remained would continue to be designated as advisers for the same reason, the Iraqi government official said. "We should never ever have left, and the vacuum was created". The troop levels proposed would be "several thousand similar to what we have now, maybe a little more".

There are now almost 7,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, many of whom are there on temporary tours or fall under other classifications that allow them to remain publicly unacknowledged.

The decision to withdraw USA combat forces was implemented by former President Barack Obama after Iraqi and us negotiators could not agree on details for extending an immunity agreement covering USA forces and us contractors.

Having gained a foothold in the northern Musherfa district last week, Iraqi forces are trying to push down into the handful of remaining districts held by Islamic State in Mosul, including the Old City.

While an increased US military commitment in Iraq could build on recent battlefield victories against ISIS, the proposed USA troop surge in Afghanistan is needed to break the stalemate in the war there. The numbers went down eventually to 40,000 before the complete withdrawal in 2011 under the Obama administration. He was referring to Islamic State by an Arabic acronym. But the Iraqi offensive, backed by airstrikes and military support from a US-led coalition, had slowed in recent weeks.

Jafar al-Husseini, a representative from the Kataib Hezbollah militia - who are closely linked to Iran - said the army and paramilitaries were strong enough to defend Iraq themselves.

The vast majority of them fled homes on the west side of the Tigris, where the fighting has been more intense than in east Mosul, which was declared retaken by the government in January.

Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US -led coalition, said coalition troops are not permanently stationed at the base but were in the area when the attack occurred.