U.S. Boosts Military Presence In Gulf As Iraq Violence Continues [VIDEO]

More Iraqis are taking up arms. Shiites– heeding their Prime Minister’s call to recapture every inch taken by a resurgent Sunni insurgency. Those militants have taken over another town.

FOX News Radio’s Emily Wither reports:

The latest gain for the Sunni Militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, is Tal Afar in the north– a strategic city along the highway to Syria, moving the militants closer to their ultimate goal of linking the areas under their control on both sides of the border. Iraqi forces have been bombing militant positions from the air (chanting) while Shiite militias and thousands of volunteers have joined Iraqi’s security forces to defend the capital Baghdad and southern areas.

Emily Wither, FOX News Radio.

WATCH the VIDEO below for more on this story:

Meanwhile, U.S. military assets are maneuvering in the region.

FOX News Radio’s Jared Halpern reports on that part of the story from Washington:

U.S. warships are moving closer to Iraq The USS George H.W. Bush, an aircraft carrier, was ordered to the Persian Gulf over the weekend, along with a cruiser and a destroyer. That movement, the Pentagon says, gives the President more flexibility should military action be required. A fourth ship, with about 500 Marines has also moved into the area to help evacuate Americans if needed. Nearly 100 Marines and soldiers have also been sent to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to help protect that facility.

In Washington, Jared Halpern, FOX News Radio.