Washington, August 25 (RHC)-- The United States is considering the possibility of sending 300 more troops to Iraq to provide additional security at American diplomatic installations, a senior U.S. official says. The anonymous government agent said that the U.S. State Department has made the request for additional troops.

According to reports, thousands of U.S. military personnel, oil contractors, security forces, and diplomats are already in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and the capital Baghdad.

The latest request comes as the U.S. military has conducted more airstrikes against ISIL militants in northern Iraq following the reported beheading of American journalist James Foley.

U.S. defense officials said that a number of airstrikes were carried out in areas where a U.S. air campaign has been targeting ISIL forces that are threatening civilian refugees and the Kurdish regional capital Erbil. The White House confirmed the authenticity of a gruesome video showing the beheading of Foley by the ISIL militants in Syria.

The video warns that the group would slay kidnapped American journalist Steven Sotloff if the U.S. president did not halt the airstrikes.