BREAKING NEWS

Iraq says US set to send more troops for Mosul attack

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday that Washington would send more US troops to help local forces in the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State expected later this year.

"American President Barack Obama was consulted on a request from the Iraqi government for a final increase in the number of trainers and advisers under the umbrella of the international coalition in Iraq," he said in a statement.

Abadi met Obama and Vice President Joe Biden last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, though it was not clear whether the deal was sealed there.