US may significantly hike number of troops in Iraq

The U.S. military has drawn up plans to significantly increase the number of American forces in Iraq beyond the current total of around 1,400, as part of the effort to bolster Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to offer details about the plans, including the timing of any future deployments, should they be approved.

The disclosure came the same day that U.S. President Barack Obama met members of Congress at the White House, where he aimed to update them on the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and in Syria, among other issues.

The United States aims to train local forces in Iraq battling Islamic State after the militants swept into northern Iraq this summer.

Obama has launched air strikes against Islamic State targets and sent military advisers back into the country after the U.S. withdrawal in 2011 but he has ruled out sending American ground troops into combat.