Growing encroachment by the insurgency poses a security threat. (US Department of State, Wikimedia Commons)

The plans emerged in response to insurgents belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL seizing control of parts of Northern Iraq. The sunni militant group is moving south, while Iraqi government forces struggle to hold them off, reports Reuters. 

The State Department said that additional U.S. security personnel will be added, but a “substantial majority” of embassy presence in Iraq will remain in place.  

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