The United States is considering deploying up to 1,000 soldiers to Kuwait as a reserve force in the fight against ISIS in the region, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
(FOX)- Those in favor of the move said having the reserve force located in Kuwait would provide the U.S. a greater capacity to respond to battlefield challenges.
Officials reportedly said the decision will be part of the U.S.’s strategy review to defeat the militants in Iraq and Syria. The report said that there are about 6,000 troops serving mainly as advisers in the area.
Meanwhile, A detachment of U.S Marines arrived in Syria outside the ISIS de-facto capital of Raqqa, a U.S. defense official confirmed Wednesday to Fox News.
The Pentagon is not publically confirming the move, citing operational security.
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces fought their way Tuesday into the heart of western Mosul, storming the government complex in this part of the city but quickly pulled back in the face of heavy fire from the Islamic State group.
Last week, the troops reached the first bridge from the south in western Mosul, known locally as the 4th Bridge. U.S.-led airstrikes disabled all of Mosul’s five bridges last year in a bid to isolate the militants.