The U.S. is sending 217 more troops to fight ISIS in Iraq

U.S. steps up fight against ISIS.
(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. is sending 200 more troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State, defense officials said Monday. For the first time, it's also sending Apache helicopters.

Most of the additional troops, which bring the total number in Iraq to 4,087, are going to be Army special forces, The Associated Press reports. Some troops will embed with Iraqi brigades and battalions, which stands to put them closer to mortars and rocket fire than they have been.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.