Agency :
President Obama on Tuesday authorized sending some 350 additional US military personnel to protect diplomatic facilities and personnel in Baghdad.
The troops will not play a combat role, the White House said.
The move is the latest in a series of deployments aimed at protecting the US Embassy and other facilities in Iraq.
It comes as Obama has been under political pressure to respond to the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, including the apparent execution of a second American journalist depicted in a video released Tuesday.
“The President will be consulting this week with NATO allies regarding additional actions to take against ISIL and to develop a broad-based international coalition to implement a comprehensive strategy to protect our people and to support our partners in the fight against ISIL,” the White House said in a statement.
It said Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and counterterrorism advisor Lisa Monaco will travel to the region separately “in the near-term.”
The White House said Obama took the step to increase troop presence in Iraq at the recommendation of the Pentagon.
The White House said Obama approved the move “to protect our personnel and facilities in Iraq as we continue to support the government of Iraq” in its fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization.
