Baghdad deploys troops trained by US in campaign to retake Ramadi from militants

baghdad — Iraq has for the first time deployed soldiers trained by the US-led coalition in their campaign to retake the city of Ramadi from Daesh militants, the US military said on Thursday.

The disclosure came during an unannounced visit by US Defence Secretary Ash Carter to Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi and underscored the need for capable Iraqi ground forces to battle back Daesh.

“We’re making some progress. We need to make more,” Carter told US troops gathered at Baghdad airport.

Daesh seized Anbar’s capital Ramadi two months ago, extending its control over the Euphrates valley west of Baghdad and dealing a major setback to Abadi and the US-backed army he entrusted with its defence.

The fall of Ramadi was the Iraqi army’s worst defeat since Daesh militants swept through north Iraq last summer and raised questions about the ability of the government in Baghdad to overcome the sectarian divide that has helped fuel the Daesh’s expansion.

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters travelling with Carter that the roughly 3,000 coalition-trained soldiers joined the Ramadi operation in recent days.

Some 500 Sunni tribesmen were also participating, Warren said. He declined to say how many Iraqi forces in total were involved in the Ramadi campaign, citing operational security.

US President Barack Obama responded to the fall of Ramadi last month by ordering 450 more US troops to set up at Taqaddum base, which is closer to the fighting in Anbar province and only about 25km from Ramadi.

One of the goals of the new US deployment to Taqaddum was to encourage Sunni tribes to join the battle against Daesh, complementing efforts at the Ain Al Asad air base, also in Anbar.

Carter sought to underscore that objective in Baghdad, holding talks with Sunni leaders including the governor of Anbar province.

The Iraqi forces, backed by USled coalition air strikes, were in the process of encircling Ramadi to choke off Daesh supplies and trap their fighters ahead of a push to seize the city, Warren said.

Citing Iraqi battlefield reporting, Warren said Iraqi forces had advanced to the area around the University of Anbar in Ramadi, saying they were moving “methodically, deliberately and slowly”.

The United States estimates there are about 1,000 to 2,000 Daesh fighters in Ramadi, Warren said. Shia militia commanders, who have led much of the fightback in Iraq against Daesh over the last 12 months, have said their initial focus is not on Ramadi but the nearby city of Falluja, under insurgent control for more than a year and a half.

Warren said the government in Baghdad had indicated the militia would not be involved in Ramadi.

“The government of Iraq has indicated that they have no intention of using the Shia militia forces as part of the liberation of Ramadi,” Warren said.

Abadi, at the end of a 45-minute meeting with Carter, sought to underscore the role of his forces battling Daesh.

“It is Iraq forces that are fighting on the ground and that are liberating remaining territory,” he said.