President Barack Obama announced United States troops will not be sent to fight on the ground in Iraq, in order to reassure Americans about the level of U.S. involvement in the war against Islamic State forces, according to The Associated Press.

Obama stressed during a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa that airstrikes would be the central U.S. contribution to the fight against Islamic State, along with coordinating a coalition that he said now includes more than 40 countries, the AP reported.

"I want to be clear. The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," Obama said, according to the AP. "We will train and equip our partners. We will advise them and we will assist them. We will lead a broad coalition of countries who have a stake in this fight."

Obama's reassurance to the American people came a day after General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, mentioned some ground forces during congressional testimony that worried some Democrats, the AP reported.

In testimony to a Senate committee on Tuesday, Dempsey outlined scenarios in which he might recommend having U.S. troops do more, potentially accompanying Iraqis during complicated offensives, such as a battle to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters, according to the AP.

"As your commander in chief I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq," Obama told troops, according to the AP.

More than 160 airstrikes against Islamic State targets have been conducted in several areas in Iraq, and Obama has authorized similar attacks against the extremist group's strongholds in Syria, the AP reported.