On 15 June 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched in response to the Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) of the Islamic State (ISIL), as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.
In early August 2014, ISIL began its Northern Iraq offensive. On 5 August, the United States started supplying the Kurdish Peshmerga forces with weapons. On 8 August, the United States began airstrikes against ISIL positions in Iraq. Nine other countries also launched airstrikes against ISIL, more or less in concert with Kurdish and Iraqi government ground troops. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign.