Advisory brigades to be deployed to Iraq

WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- Four new advisory and assistance brigades will be sent to Iraq beginning in the fall during the next scheduled U.S. troop deployment, the Pentagon said.

The brigades are configured Army units that focus on the training and mentoring of Iraqi special forces, the Department of Defense said Wednesday in a news release.

Unlike traditional brigade combat teams, the advisory and assistance brigades would focus more on advising, assisting and developing capabilities within the Iraqi security forces, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. However, the brigades also would conduct coordinated counterterrorism missions and protect the ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq.

Besides working with Iraqi forces, the brigades also would support the U.S. State Department's provisional reconstruction teams, Pentagon officials said.