25/06/2014 10:00
US forces arrive in Baghdad to advise Iraqi troops
The first US troops deployed to assist the Iraqi army in combating a growing Sunni militant insurgency have arrived and begun work, the Pentagon has said, according to the BBC.
Nearly half the 300 special operations soldiers promised by US President Barack Obama are in Baghdad or on the front lines of the fight.
The rest are expected within days.
Also, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for regional unity to expel the Sunni Isis rebels who have taken large swathes of Iraq.
On Tuesday, two teams totalling 40 US troops began work assessing Iraqi troops on the front line, the Pentagon said.
An additional 90 personnel will work in Baghdad to set up a new joint operations command centre.
Those teams will be joined by an additional four teams of 50 troops each in the next few days.