Iraqis launch campaign to drive Daesh out of Anbar

OPERATION ‘LABAIK YA HUSSAIN’ AIMS TO ISOLATE WESTERN PROVINCE

Iraq yesterday announced the launch of a major military operation to drive Daesh terrorists from the western Anbar province and retake the Sunni heartland where the group captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, earlier this month.

The operation is backed by militias and pro-government fighters, the Iraqi state TV reported, without providing further details. There was no indication of any immediate movements on the ground following the announcement.

Daesh (the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) seized large parts of Anbar in early 2014 and captured Ramadi earlier this month — a fall that marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the terrorists over the past months with the help of US-led air strikes.

The operation comes just days after US officials, including Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, criticised the Iraqi forces, saying their men fled Daesh advance on Ramadi without fighting back, leaving behind weapons and vehicles for the terrorists.

Iraq’s Shiite paramilitaries announced yesterday they had taken charge of the campaign to drive Daesh from the western province of Anbar, giving the operation an openly sectarian codename that could infuriate its Sunni population.

Iraq yesterday announced the launch of a military operation to drive Daesh out of the western Al Anbar province, where the terrorists captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, earlier this month. Iraqi state TV declared the start of the operation, in which troops will be backed by Shiite and Sunni paramilitary forces, but did not provide further details.

Iraqi forces launched an operation in desert areas northeast of Ramadi aimed at cutting off Daesh and preparing a bid to retake the city, a militia spokesman said.

The operation will see a mix of security forces and paramilitaries move south from Salah Al Deen province, said Ahmad Al Assadi, spokesman for the Hashid Al Shaabi.

The Hashid Al Shaabi (“popular mobilisation” in Arabic) is an umbrella group for mostly Shiite militia and volunteers, which the government called in after Daesh captured Ramadi on May 17.

Goals

“The operation’s goal is to liberate those regions between Salah Al Deen and Al Anbar and try to isolate the province of Al Anbar,” Assadi said.

He said it had been dubbed “Operation Labaik ya Hussain”, which roughly translates as “We are at your service, Hussain” and refers to one of the most revered imams in Shiitism.

Daesh seized large parts of Al Anbar starting in early 2014 and captured Ramadi earlier this month. The fall of the city marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the terrorists over the past year with the help of US-led air strikes.

Security forces and militiamen who had been battling the terrorists in Ramadi for months collapsed as Daesh fighters overran the city. They gained not only new territory 115km west of Baghdad, but also large stocks of weapons abandoned by the government forces as they fled.

The capture of Ramadi was a major blow to the US-backed strategy against Daesh. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Sunday that Iraqi forces had “vastly outnumbered” the Daesh terrorists in Ramadi but “showed no will to fight.”

Sa’ad Al Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, said the government was surprised by Carter’s remarks, and that the defence secretary “was likely given incorrect information.”

Al Abadi has called on militias to help Iraqi troops retake the province of Al Anbar. The militiamen have played a key role in clawing back territory from the Daesh group elsewhere in Iraq but rights groups accuse them of looting, destroying property and carrying out revenge attacks. Militia leaders deny the allegations. Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi and his US allies had been reluctant to deploy Iran-backed Shiite militia in Al Anbar, a predominantly Sunni province.

Al Anbar’s provincial capital Ramadi had resisted Daesh assaults for more than a year but fell earlier this month after a massive offensive and a chaotic retreat by security forces.

The militiamen have played a key role in clawing back territory from Daesh elsewhere in Iraq but rights groups accuse them of looting, destroying property and carrying out revenge attacks.