WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Army’s 1st Infantry Division has assumed command of the land component of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq, according to a news release Thursday from the coalition, formally named Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.
"The 1st Infantry Division assumed command of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command — Operation Inherent Resolve from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during a Transfer of Authority ceremony today at Forward Operating Base, Union III, Iraq," the release stated.
The 1st Infantry Division was deployed in 2014 as the first Army division to lead the Operation Inherent Resolve land component.
About 5,000 US military personnel are now based in Iraq to support the country’s forces in the operation to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State.