The United States may deploy ground troops to Iraq where the country’s forces are planning for operations against the ISIL-held city of Mosul as soon as April, a US official says.

The US Central Command official told CNN on Saturday that the US military was considering a recommendation for ground troops to help Iraqi soldiers fight against the Takfiri terrorists holding parts of the country, including the major city of Mosul.

The military was yet busy gathering intelligence about ISIL defenses in Mosul to make sure such recommendations were necessary, the official said.

Mosul op in April

The official said that as soon as April the Iraqi forces would make their first move against the militants in the city, some 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad.

The Iraqi forces may need US help in locating military targets if ISIL defenses reach a significant level, he said, adding, the Pentagon and Central Command may then recommend President Barack Obama for US ground involvement.

General Lloyd Austin, the head of Central Command, and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have already referred to the idea of US boots on the ground in the crisis-hit country.

The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL militants took control of Mosul, in a lightning advance on June 10, 2014.

The US has already noticed that ISIL members are sending their family members outside the city in an attempt to protect them, according to the official.

Soldiers of the Iraqi army have been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and have so far been able to push back militants in several areas.

The ISIL terrorists have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their in Iraq and Syria. They have terrorized and killed people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

Washington says it is carrying out air strikes against the ISIL positions in both Iraq and Syria, but there is skepticism on both sides of the border about the real objective of the strikes.

NT/NT