White House Officials Say Obama May Announce Plan For More Troops In Iraq

Officials with the Obama administration told media outlets Tuesday that the president may announce a plan later in the day to send extra military troops to Iraq to help with the growing Islamic State crisis.

Although no final plan had been made, the officials, who chose to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the president is expected to announce late Tuesday the plan to send 70 extra military personnel to the Middle Eastern county to help maintain Islamic State militants. There are already about 700 military troops there protecting U.S. diplomats as the Islamic State makes advances in northern Iraq.

This news from top U.S. officials comes after Secretary of State John Kerry announced early Tuesday that the U.S. may consider "political, economic and security" options to counter the Islamic State, but any move made by the U.S. will not involve combat troops on the ground.

"There will be no reintroduction of American combat forces into Iraq," he said. "Nobody, I think, is looking forwards to a return to the road that we've travelled."

The Islamic State, an offshoot of al-Qaeda seeking to overthrow Iraq's government, has made swift advances in northern Iraq and eastern Syria since it began gaining momentum in June. It has successfully forced tens of thousands of religious minorities, including Christians, from their homes as they demand an entirely Islamic state.

President Obama has been clear in saying that there is still a long way to go before the Islamic State is controlled, but the president commended Iraq Tuesday for electing a new prime minister, Haider al-Ibadi, to power, saying it was an "important step" that would "unite Iraq's different communities."