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U.S. soldiers patrol the Taji base complex, which hosts Iraqi and U.S. troops north of the capital Baghdad. Taji is one of an eventual five sites where the U.S. and allied countries aim to train 5,000 Iraqi military personnel every six to eight weeks for combat against the so-called Islamic State. Ali al-Saadi /AFP/Getty Images hide caption

U.S. soldiers patrol the Taji base complex, which hosts Iraqi and U.S. troops north of the capital Baghdad. Taji is one of an eventual five sites where the U.S. and allied countries aim to train 5,000 Iraqi military personnel every six to eight weeks for combat against the so-called Islamic State.

Three years after the U.S. military officially withdrew from Iraq, 2,000 U.S. troops are back. They're restoring the old buildings they'd left behind and renewing contacts with Iraqi officers they knew before.

They're also taking incoming rocket fire at their bases.

This week began an ambitious training program to put 5,000 Iraqi soldiers through boot camp every six weeks.

"It is a little spooky to walk out there and ... things are pretty much exactly as people pulled out."

- Maj. Patrick Kiley

Operation Inherent Resolve was designed by the U.S. to build a coalition of states to strike back against the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, in Iraq and Syria. The operation has seen a return of U.S. troops to Iraq, mainly as advisers and trainers. Another 1,000 are expected in the coming weeks.

Many of those troops have deployed here before, and have mixed feelings about coming back to a country where America spent years at war and where many believe they had helped create a stable country.

Their commander is Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, and one recent evening he flew by helicopter to the military base at Taji, just north of Baghdad, to meet about 180 U.S. troops stationed there.

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There And Back Again For U.S. Military In Iraq : Parallels ...

(CNN) -

It's been a bloody year in Iraq, where ISIS militants have seized swaths of territory and remain on the offensive. And the latest figures from the Iraq Body Count monitoring project show that civilians, as so often in war, are paying a heavy price.

At least 17,049 civilians were recorded killed in Iraq during 2014, Iraq Body Count said, roughly double the number recorded in 2013 -- which in turn was about double that of the previous year.

The shocking rise in deaths in 2014 is due in large part to the ISIS offensive and the military response to it by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led international coalition, the group said.

Based in London and made up of academics and human rights and anti-war activists, Iraq Body Count monitors and compiles media reports of Iraqi civilian casualties resulting from the violence that followed the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Since that invasion, "not a single day has passed without Iraqi civilians being killed," it said. "The year 2014, however, reflects an increase in violence to levels not seen since the worst years of 2006 and 2007."

According to the group, the greatest number of deaths in 2014 were in Baghdad, Nineveh, Salaheddin and Anbar provinces, which together account for about 80% of civilian deaths.

The highest number of civilian deaths was seen in Baghdad, with more than 4,750 reported.

More than 3,600 civilians were killed in western Anbar province, half of them by the Iraqi military in daily airstrikes, primarily in and around Falluja, the group said.

Meanwhile, in Salaheddin and Nineveh provinces, the killings of civilians by ISIS contributed significantly to the death toll, it said.

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Iraq civilian deaths dramatically up in 2014

The violence was sparked by the demolition of the country's main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi in late 2013

VIOLENCE. Members of the Iraqi Shiite militia, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq parade during a rally in Karbala city, southern Iraq, 14 August 2014. File photo by Alaa Al-Shemaree/EPA

BAGHDAD, Iraq (UPDATED) Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, government figures showed on Thursday, January 1, making it one of the deadliest years since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Figures compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries put the death toll at 15,538, compared with 17,956 killed in 2007 during the height of Sunni-Shiite sectarian killings.

Last year's toll was also more than double the 6,522 people killed in 2013.

Iraq Body Count, a Britain-based non-governmental organization that tracks violence in Iraq, gave an even higher toll for 2014, saying that 17,073 civilians were killed, which would make it the third deadliest year since 2003.

"For Iraqis, it has been the most difficult and painful of years because of the attack of the (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group) terrorist gangs," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a New Year's speech, referring to jihadists responsible for much of the bloodshed.

The year got off to a bloody start, with the government losing control of parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi and all of Fallujah -- just a short drive from Baghdad -- to anti-government fighters.

The violence was sparked by the demolition of the country's main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi in late 2013.

It spread to Fallujah, and security forces later withdrew from areas of both cities, leaving them open for capture.

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Iraq violence killed 15,000 in 2014, worst in 7 years govt

Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, according to government figures, making it one of the deadliest years since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Figures compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries put the death toll at 15,538, compared with 17,956 killed in 2007 during the height of Sunni-Shia sectarian killings.

Last year's toll was also more than double the 6,522 people killed in 2013.

Iraq Body Count, a Britain-based NGO that tracks violence in Iraq, gave an even higher toll for 2014, saying that 17,073 civilians were killed, which would make it the third deadliest year since 2003.

"For Iraqis, it has been the most difficult and painful of years because of the attack of the (Islamic State group) terrorist gangs," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a New Year's speech, referring to jihadists responsible for much of the bloodshed.

The year got off to a bloody start, with the government losing control of parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi and all of Fallujah to anti-government fighters.

The violence was sparked by the demolition of the country's main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi in late 2013.

It spread to Fallujah, and security forces later withdrew from areas of both cities, leaving them open for capture.

In June, the Islamic State (IS) group spearheaded a major militant offensive that swept security forces aside.

The militants overran Iraq's second city Mosul and then drove south towards Baghdad, raising fears that the capital itself would be attacked.

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More than 15,000 killed in Iraq in 2014

Turkey, Iraq vow to expand cooperation against IS -, IS
And staying in the war-torn region. Iraq and Turkey have come together to strengthen their resolve in fighting the Islamic State militant group. Paul, Turkey...

By: ARIRANG NEWS

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Turkey, Iraq vow to expand cooperation against IS -, IS - Video