The US is to deploy 217 troops and Apache helicopters to Iraq as part of operations against ISIS, according to US defense officials. In Iraq #SecDef announces accelerants to defeat #ISIL. List includes expanding advise & assist efforts to help Iraqi forces liberate Mosul — U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) April 18, 2016 The new force will consist mostly of Army special forces RT reports: The rest will include teams of trainers and advisers to be embedded with Iraqi security forces fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), meaning US advisers will be stationed near the battlefront as Iraqi units move toward Mosul. Iraq is attempting to retake Mosul, the nation’s second-largest city, from Islamic State control. Maintenance personnel for the Apaches will also be included in the troop injection. The Apaches will be available for use in the push to regain Mosul, AP reported. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter indicated on April 16 that the US military will boost its operations against Islamic State. “You should expect us, to see us, doing more,” Carter said, according to the New York Times. “It will be consistent with the same approach, but it’ll be across all the domains, right up to cyber.” [...]