US to target ISIL havens in Syria and may send advisers into combat

US president Barack Obama assures that the escalation of the campaign is not the start of another ground war in the Middle East, and that there will be no large-scale American invasion.

US secretary of defence Chuck Hagel, left, and Gen Martin Dempsey present a map showing ISIL's projected territorial ambitions as they testify at a senate armed services committee hearing on Tuesday. Kevin Lamarque / ReutersShow less

WASHINGTON // The United States plans to strike the Islamist militant group ISIL in its Syrian strongholds and could send military advisers into combat alongside Iraqi troops, American commanders said on Tuesday.

Military leaders warned of a further escalation in their battle against the militants.

Over the weekend, ISIL militants further upped the stakes in their battle with the West, murdering a British aid worker – the third western hostage to be executed on camera.

US warplanes have been targeting ISIL in northern Iraq since August 8, and in recent days hit the militants south-west of Baghdad for the first time, in a significant expansion of the campaign.

Meanwhile, defense secretary Chuck Hagel told US legislators plans are being laid to hit targets in Syria, where ISIL is holding hostages and has a stronghold in the city of Raqa.

“This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure,” Mr Hagel told the senate armed services committee.

But the US military’s top-ranking officer, Gen Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing the bombing would not match the huge raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

“This will not look like ‘shock and awe’ because that is not how ISIL is organised, but it will be persistent and sustainable,” Gen Dempsey said, using the term Washington used for its 2003 bombardment.

US president Barack Obama’s administration has insisted that his action against the ISIL extremists is not the start of another US ground war in the Middle East, and that there will be no large-scale American invasion.

But nearly 300 US military advisers are already working with Iraqi government forces, 300 more are on their way and Gen Dempsey refused to rule out their providing “close combat advising”.

“To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president,” Gen Dempsey said.

Gen Dempsey said the advisers are “very much in a combat advisory role” and that there is “no intention” at the moment for them to engage in combat: “I don’t see it to be necessary right now.”

But he said if there were an “extraordinarily complex” operation planned by Iraqi forces – such as a bid to recapture the rebel-held city of Mosul – then advisers could head to the front.

Gen Dempsey said any use of US troops in the field would be approved by Mr Obama, explaining: “He told me to come back to him on a case-by-case basis.”

Mr Obama has vowed to expand American efforts and US diplomats are scrambling to put together an international coalition for a “relentless” campaign against the militants.

The US strikes against ISIL in the Sadr Al Yusufiyah area, 25 kilometres from Baghdad, was the first in support of Iraqi forces near the capital.

They bring the number of US airstrikes across Iraq to 162. The CIA estimates that ISIL may be able to field as many as 31,500 fighters – many of them foreign volunteers.

Iraqi security spokesman Lt Gen Qassem Atta welcomed the expanded American action, saying the US “carried out an important strike against an enemy target in Sadr Al Yusufiyah.”

Mdeanwhile, the Iraqi parliament rejected the prime minister’s nominees for defence and interior ministers, leaving the two crucial posts unfilled.

Legislators convened on Tuesday and prime minister Haider Al Abadi put forward Sunni legislator Jaber Al Jabberi as his candidate for defence minister, and Shiite legislator Riyad Ghareeb as his pick for interior minister. Parliament, which could confirm the nominees with a simple majority, voted 118-117 against Mr Ghareeb, and 131-108 against Mr Al Jabberi.

“The failure of the parliament to agree on the candidates to fill the posts of interior and defence ministers shows clearly that the gap among and inside political groups are still huge and that each bloc is pursuing its own ambitions,” said legislator Mutashar Al Samarie. “I think that the posts of defence and interior minister should be kept away from sectarian power-sharing. Iraq’s problems in Iraq can be solved only by bringing independent and efficient people to fill ministerial posts.”

Ahead of the vote, two legislators, Hussein Al Maliki and Mohammed Saadoun, said that the selection of Mr Ghareeb met with some contention, mostly from the Shiite Badr Brigade.

Mohsen Laftah Asfour, a legislator with Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr’s bloc, was the only legislator approved in Tuesday’s session and will assume the role of water resources minister. Parliament adjourned until Thursday.

Meanwhile, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying his military is mulling the prospect of establishing a buffer zone along its border with Syria and Iraq amid an escalating threat posed by ISIL.

“The [Turkish armed forces] are working on plans and will present them to us and we will decide if it is necessary,” Mr Erdogan said.

A government official confirmed that Turkey was devising plans for a buffer zone along the volatile border.

Turkey, a Nato member and Washington’s key ally in the region, has been reluctant to take part in combat operations against ISIL, or allow a US-led coalition to use its airbases for strikes against the militants because the extremists are holding dozens of Turkish nationals hostage, including diplomats and children.

ISIL militants are holding 49 Turks in all, abducted from the Turkish consulate in Mosul in Iraq in June.

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press