U.K. sends military advisers to Iraq

British forces are going back to Iraq to help local forces fight ISIS, after playing a key role in Saddam Hussein's takedown.

"We are going to be stepping up our training effort," U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told the BBC. Fallon added that while he doesn't have "precise numbers," there will be "hundreds or fewer" people involved.

They will train locals in counter-IED and roadside car bombs, thanks to Britain's "experience in Afghanistan," Fallon said, adding that they'll will be sent to training centers across Iraq and "not just in the Kurdish areas." He said that the mission "would not lead to the deployment of combat troops," the BBC reports.

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On Sept. 30, the U.K. launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq. The U.S. has also agreed to send roughly 500 soldiers to Iraq to help retrain the Iraqi army, the BBC notes. Meanwhile, New Zealand also announced Wednesday that it was mulling sending military advisers to the war-torn country.