A look at US role against IS as Mosul offensive takes off

This Oct. 10, 2016 photo released by the U.S. Army shows U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ed Matthaidess, commander, left, Task Force Falcon, outlining areas of an Iraqi security forces tactical assembly area to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, commander, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Operation Inherent Resolve, in northern Iraq, prior to the start of the Mosul offensive. The U.S. has just as much to gain from the operation to recapture Mosul as the Iraqis themselves. Since 2014, the U.S. has provided airstrikes and advise-and-assist operations to put the beleaguered Iraqi military back on its feet after the Islamic State group gutted it of weapons, supplies and soldiers during its blitzkrieg across Iraq and Syria.(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class R.W. Lemmons IV via AP) This Oct. 10, 2016 photo released by the U.S. Army shows U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ed Matthaidess, commander, left, Task Force Falcon, outlining areas of an Iraqi security forces tactical assembly area to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, commander, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command – Operation Inherent Resolve, in northern Iraq, prior to the start of the Mosul offensive. The U.S. has just as much to gain from the operation to recapture Mosul as the Iraqis themselves. Since 2014, the U.S. has provided airstrikes and advise-and-assist operations to put the beleaguered Iraqi military back on its feet after the Islamic State group gutted it of weapons, supplies and soldiers during its blitzkrieg across Iraq and Syria.(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class R.W. Lemmons IV via AP)

By Associated Press October 19, 2016 5 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – As Iraqi tanks charge across their country to purge the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group, the United States has just as much to gain from the operation as the Iraqis themselves.

Since 2014, the U.S. has provided advise and assist operations to prop the beleaguered Iraqi military back on its feet after IS group gutted it of weapons, supplies and soldiers during its blitzkrieg across Iraq and Syria. Coalition forces later launched airstrikes in both countries, reinforcing Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian ground forces, while maintaining that no foreign combat troops would partake in the fight.

A look at the U.S. role against the Islamic State group:

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HOW MANY U.S. SOLDIERS ARE CURRENTLY IN IRAQ AND SYRIA?