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In Iraqs western Anbar province, more than 300 U.S. troops are posted at a base in the thick of a pitched battle between Iraqi forces, backed by tribal fighters, and well-armed Islamic State militants.

The militants, positioned at a nearby town, have repeatedly hit the base with artillery and rocket fire in recent weeks. Since the middle of December, the U.S.-led military coalition has launched 13 airstrikes around the facility.

U.S. troops have suffered no casualties in the attacks. But the violence has underlined the risks to American personnel as they fan out across Iraq as part of the expanding U.S. mission against the Islamic State, even as President Obama has pledged that U.S. operations will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.

In a sign of the risks, military officials said American soldiers have been transported to the Ayn al-Asad base under the cover of night by helicopter partly to maintain a low profile for the renewed U.S. operation in Iraq but also to protect U.S. personnel amid fierce fighting west of the capital, Baghdad.

Under Obamas plan to aid the Iraqi government, the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is expected to grow to about 3,000 from just under 2,000 now. Not only have they been deployed in Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil, but in recent weeks they also have been sent to Anbar and to training sites flanking the capital.

Iraqi government forces took back an area in the Sunni heartland of Anbar province after launching a large-scale attack on Islamic State militants. (Reuters)

Overall, they are a tiny force compared with the more than 160,000 U.S. troops who were stationed in Iraq at the height of the 2003-2011 war. But American military officials recognize that Iraq remains a dangerous neighborhood in places, as a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command put it.

We are aware of those risks, and we are taking appropriate measures to mitigate them, said the spokesman, Col. Patrick Ryder.

While U.S. commanders have suggested that U.S. ground activities might expand, troops are limited to advising local commanders and retraining elements of Iraqs army. The Americans are confined to military headquarters or training bases at four sites.

Those sites include al-Asad in Anbar, a largely Sunni province that has been particularly volatile and provided a foothold for Islamic State forces in Iraq. Militants now control much of the province, including the city of Fallujah and the town of Hit.

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U.S. advisers in Iraq stay out of combat but see fighting edging closer