President Obama is expected to announce Monday that he is sending another 250 military personnel to Syria to assist local forces combat the Islamic State, according to multiple reports.
Government officials said Obama signed off on the new deployment, which would significantly increase the number of American ground troops in the country from 50 up to 300.
The president is expected to make the announcement in Hannover, Germany, where he is wrapping up a week-long trip that also included stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Afterwards, the Obama is scheduled to meet with French President Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Renzi, U.K. Prime Minister Cameron and German Chancellor Merkel before travelling back to the U.S.
In an interview with the BBC published earlier on Sunday, Obama said it would be “a mistake” for the U.S. or Great Britain to send ground troops to overthrow the Syrian President Bashar Assad. He added that military efforts alone cannot solve the country’s long term problems and that the Islamic State would not be defeated in his remaining nine months in office.
