REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUWAIT CITY -- US allies have committed to send about 1,500 forces to Iraq to help advise and train Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers battling the Islamic State, in a substantial boost on the ground, the top US commander guiding the coalition effort said on Monday.

Lieutenant General James Terry, who commands all coalition efforts against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said the forces would come on top of the up to 3,100 troops US President Barack Obama has authorized to deploy to Iraq. The allies' commitments were made during a conference among coalition members on Dec. 2-3.

"When you start now to balance the different capabilities out across the coalition, I think we’re doing pretty well in terms of boots on the ground," Terry told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Kuwait.

Terry declined to say which countries were contributing but said the troops would represent a broad mix from a coalition that, on the military side, now included nearly 40 countries.

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