The U.S. is prepared to provide additional support for the fight if requested by Iraq and US commanders, Carter said in the capital.Peshmerga Brig. Gen. Halgord Hekmet, a spokesman for the Kurdish forces, told reporters that 25 of their troops have been killed since the battle to retake Mosul began and a ``large number'' had been wounded. More than 100 US special operations forces are embedded with the Kurds and Iraqi military commandos. The Iraqi government says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Turkey has refused and insists it will play a role in liberating the city.IS captured Mosul and the surrounding area during a lightning advance across northern Iraq in the summer of 2014.

Source: Times of India October 23, 2016 12:42 UTC