US deploys more troops on the ground in Iraq to fight ISIS

Washington has sent a detachment of US Marines to Iraq to bolster the fight against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terror group. The Marines will reinforce US forces already there. A group of Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, will be deployed on the ground, the US military said on Sunday, according to Reuters. It isn't immediately clear how many personnel have been sent and to where. In January, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter reiterated Washington's plans to increase its military presence in the anti-IS campaign in Iraq. "We're looking for opportunities to do more, and there will be boots on the ground — I want to be clear about that," Carter said at the time.