Italy is to send 450 troops to defend Iraq's strategic Mosul dam, near the city occupied by Daesh group fighters, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced, according to Global Post.

"The call (to protect the dam) was made by an Italian company... and we will send 450 of our men there to help protect it alongside the Americans," the prime minister said on national television.

Mosul, Iraq's second city, has been occupied by Daesh jihadists since June 2014. Kurdish forces, backed by US air strikes, retook the dam from Daesh in August 2014.

Italian construction and energy group Trevi has secured a $2.0 billion (1.83 billion euro) contract to shore up the dam.

So far the security situation has been too precarious for those works to begin.

The 450 Italian troops will be in addition to the 750 already on the ground in Iraq as part of international efforts.

Sources: MENA