General denies US 'boots on the ground' in Iraq
A high-ranking US military official has insisted the United States does not have combat troops in Iraq, after an American soldier was killed during a purported hostage rescue operation.
"US forces are not in Iraq on a combat mission and do not have boots on the ground," Lieutenant General Sean B. MacFarland said on Friday.
MacFarland is the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve, a force established by the US-led coalition to fight against Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.
On Thursday, US special operations forces attempted to rescue a group of Kurdish hostages in Iraq, according to Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.
Around 70 hostages were successfully rescued during the operation, but one US solider lost his life during the mission, Cook said.
US officials said that the hostage rescue was not part of the 3,500-troop American mission in Iraq to train and advise Iraqi forces in the fight against the ISIL terrorists, claiming the operation was part of a separate counterterrorism mission.
"It is important to realize that US military support to this Iraqi rescue operation is part of our overarching counter-terrorism efforts throughout the region and does not represent a change in our policy," MacFarland said.
The US special operations member who died on Thursday was the first American killed since Washington began its military campaign against Daesh in August 2014.
US ground troops have rarely, if ever, participated directly in combat operations against Daesh terrorists. The US has largely limited its role to “training” and “advising” Iraqi and Kurdish forces and conducting airstrikes against ISIL.
The American-led military intervention against purported Daesh positions in Iraq started in June, 2014. A similar coalition began in Syria in September.
However, many observers say that while the US and its allies claim they are fighting against terrorist groups like Daesh, they in fact helped create and train those organizations to advance their policies in the Middle East.
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