In between phase one and phase two of Iraqi Security Forces operations to liberate east Mosul the US-led coalition expanded its advise and assist mission to better support the ISF, according to US Department of Defense spokesperson Jeff Davis.

Axar.az reports that, US military advisers deployed to Iraq to assist with the offensive against the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) have been pushed to more Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) units, US Department of Defense spokesperson Jeff Davis said in a briefing on Tuesday.

"In between phase one and phase two of ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] operations to liberate east Mosul… [the US-led coalition] expanded its advise and assist mission to better support the ISF," Davis told reporters. "This required pushing advisors to more units, such as the federal police, as well as pushing advisers deeper into ISF formations."

Iraqi security forces ride in vehicles travelling to Mosul to fight against militants of Islamic State at an Iraqi army base in Camp Taji in Baghdad, February 21, 2016

Davis noted that the US mission in Iraq remains advisory and assistive in nature.
"It is not US troops on the front line doing the actual combat themselves, but they are very close to the people that are," he noted.

Davis also said some 450 US servicemen are currently deployed to Iraq and serve on advise-and-assist teams. The servicemen are an addition to the undisclosed number of special operations forces that are assisting Iraq’s counterterrorism service.