Obama sends 275 American Marines to protect US Embassy in Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) U.S. President Barack Obama announced that 275 members of the U.S. military would be deployed to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to protect the U.S. Embassy and its staff, according to press sources in Washington.

Obama said in a letter to U.S. congressional leaders that “about 275 soldiers began deployment in Iraq to strengthen the security of American citizens and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.”

Meanwhile on Monday video footage released by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense showed air raids launched by the Air Force on locations of “armed organizations” in northern Iraq, including some sites belonging to the organization of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL

The Air Force have stepped up airstrikes targeting strongholds of these organizations in Mosul, Samarra, Salahuddin and the north of the country, in response to the continued advancement of ISIL fighters towards the capital Baghdad.