US mulling over setting up new base in Anbar and sending trainers to step up anti-Isis military campaign

The US is considering sending hundreds of more military trainers and setting up a new army base in the restive Anbar province in order to step up the ongoing battle against the Islamic State (Isis).

The White House is on the verge of taking the final call to draft as many as 500 troops to train members of the anti-IS forces.

Alistair Baskey, a spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council, has confirmed Washington is mulling over a "range of options" in order to intensify the offensive.

"Those options include sending additional trainers to Iraq," said Baskey.

US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to multiple news outlets including Reuters and New York Times, have said the Obama administration is also planning to set up a new base in Anbar.

The Pentagon's recommendations to President Barack Obama include sending up to 1,500 trainers. There are about 3,000 American military personnel comprising trainers and advisers already in Iraq. Nevertheless, Obama is expected to stick with his earlier stance of not deploying troops in the frontline.

The President's decision to approve could come anytime within this week, suggest reports. The immediate focus of the latest boost is to help the Iraqi forces retake Ramadi, the latest hotbed of IS which fell into the hands of Islamists recently.

A US official, cited by the NYT, was quoted as saying the development is "an adjustment to try to get the right training to the right folks".

The 10-months long aerial campaign supported by the modest ground troops has failed to stop the advances made by the IS. The group seized Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's largest province of Anbar, last month.