The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, arrived in Iraq Saturday to discuss the expanding war against the Takfiri group operating in Iraq and Syria, ISIL, a senior US official said.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, arrived in Iraq Saturday to discuss the expanding war against the Takfiri group operating in Iraq and Syria, ISIL, a senior US official said.

Dempsey flew in to hold talks with "Iraqi political and security officials on (the) next phase of the campaign to defeat (ISIL)," Brett McGurk, the number two US envoy for the coalition battling the terrorist group, said on Twitter.

President Barack Obama announced earlier plans to deploy up to 1,500 more US military personnel to the country to allegedly advise and train Iraqi forces, raising the total cap to 3,100.

A US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes against ISIL in Iraq, where the insurgents spearheaded a lightning offensive that overran swathes in Iraq in June.
The group also holds significant territory in Syria.

Iraqi army, backed by tribesmen and popular forces from different sects, has been making progress in the recent weeks.

The local forces managed to free the entire oil-rich city of Baiji in the northern Salahuddin province from the ISIL terrorists, in addition to everal major cities, including Amerli and Jarf al-Sakhr.

Baiji lies on the road to second city and ISIL hub Mosul, and its capture also further isolates militants who hold the city of Tikrit, to the south.