US President Barack Obama makes a statement at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on August 20, 2014. (AFP)
The U.S. State Department has requested additional military personnel to provide security in Iraq, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.
The request for additional military personnel, which would include fewer than 300 people, has not yet been approved, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. military has already sent more than 800 soldiers to Iraq since Islamic State fighters took over much of the country's north in June.
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