WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says US efforts to train Iraqi forces and moderate Syrian rebels to fight the self-proclaimed Islamic State group are moving forward, but that insurgents still control about 21,000 square miles (54,400 sq. kilometers) of Iraq. Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary, says about 270 square miles (700 sq. kilometers) in Iraq have been regained from militants in the past six months, mostly by Kurdish forces in the north. He says control of land will continually change over time, and it will be a long struggle. Kirby says training has begun in all four planned sites in Iraq. He says an advance team of fewer than 100 US troops will soon head to training sites. Trainers will deploy in the coming weeks. Kirby said Kurdish forces now control about 70 percent of Kobane, which was seen a few months ago as being near collapse, with much of it in the hands of IS. He said the advanced element of US forces headed to establish training sites amounted to fewer than 100 troops. "They're going to ... take a look at what's there and prepare for further deployments," Kirby said. The US military has said it is planning to send more than 400 troops for the training mission and several hundred support forces for a total of about 1,000 or more. Kirby said last week that several hundred foreign military troops were also expected to act as trainers, including forces from the host countries. He said on Friday that active recruitment of Syrian trainees had not started, although US military officials have been discussing the matter with Syrian groups. Kirby said Major General Michael Nagata, the special forces chief tapped to handle the training mission, has had "very productive" meetings with Syrian opposition leaders. "But it didn't lead to specific people signing up yet," Kirby added. US officials have said if the current momentum continues, training could begin in the spring, with the first trainees returning to Syria at year's end. Officials plan to train 5,000 Syrian fighters a year for three years. — Agencies
