Washington: President Barack Obama today said the US is prepared to take targeted military actions in Iraq if they would help fight a growing threat from extremist militants.
He also said the US is ready to send as many as 300 military advisers to Iraq.
Obama is offering an update to US operations in Iraq, where al-Qaeda-inspired militants have sparked instability. He says the United States is forming joint operations centres in Baghdad and northern Iraq.
But Obama emphasised that American combat troops would not be returning to Iraq.
Obama says the US has increased its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in Iraq to better understand the threats to Baghdad.
