Lynch: Not enough troops to maintain security

Above: A Soldier from Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, walks past an Iraqi army armored vehicle destroyed at the start of the war during a patrol in Kalsu in June.

Top US commanders in Iraq said on Sunday they need more Iraqi troops to sustain ongoing security operations that could eventually help their own forces withdraw.

Making the case was Major General Rick Lynch, commander of US troops in central Iraq, who said a shortage of troops was forcing US commanders to recruit local people to guard their own homes.

"The issue is shortage of troops. We have shortage of troops ... shortage of coalition troops, Iraqi security forces and we still need to keep sustained security presence," he told a group of reporters from Western media outlets.

In his own area of operations which includes the southern belts outside Baghdad and provinces of Babil, Karbala and Najaf, Lynch said he needed seven more Iraqi army battalions and five more Iraqi police units.

"We need to add confident, capable Iraqi forces to maintain security," he said.

"They are getting better every day. But they are just not enough. There has to be aggressive recruiting to get more Iraqi soldiers and police on the rolls, properly trained and properly equipped."

Read the rest at France 24

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