Iraq counts on U.S. advisers, mostly out of sight, in war on Islamic State

An aerial view of Mosul taken from helicopter is seen during the battle against Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin

BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) - When Iraqi forces faced a fierce Islamic State counter-attack last month at a hospital in Mosul they had stormed without enough troops to hold it, U.S. advisers behind the front lines shepherded them to safety.

And as they punched through the city's northern limits a few weeks later, it was again the Americans who counselled them how best to avoid roadside bombs and head off Islamic State suicide car bombers.