U.S. Army PV2 Justin Burdick carries the company colors as he and fellow soldiers file on to busses before flying to Afghanistan June 5, 2009 from Fort Carson, Colorado. More than 300 soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team left Friday, as part of more than 20,000 troops being deployed to bolster the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
The U.S. military has drawn up plans to significantly increase the number of American forces in Iraq, which now total around 1,400, as Washington seeks to bolster Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State. The United States aims to help advise and train Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling Islamic State fighters who swept into much of northern Iraq.
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