Iraqi forces dealt setback as ISIL advances on Ramadi
Islamic State militants launched a fierce attack Wednesday to capture the city of Ramadi, dealing a setback to a newly launched Iraqi military offensive in the Sunni-dominated region.
Sunni tribal leaders who have been holding out in the city, 70 miles west of Baghdad, said they were short of weapons and ammunition and were under intense pressure from the extremists, said Sterling Jensen, an assistant professor at the United Arab Emirates’ National Defense College in Abu Dhabi.
Jensen keeps in close contact with tribal leaders.
An Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Tahseen Ibrahim, acknowledged that the militants “gained a foothold in some areas” in Anbar Province, the Associated Press reported.
He said reinforcements were dispatched to the province. “The situation is under control and the standoff will be resolved in the coming hours,” he told the AP.
U.S. Central Command said the Iraqi government remains in control of Ramadi, Anbar’s provincial capital.
The fighting came as Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was visiting Washington, where he asked for additional U.S. support in his government’s fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.
The Pentagon said Monday that Iraq’s armed forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, reclaimed about 25% of the territory captured last year by the Islamic State.
Iraqi residents said militants captured the villages of Sjariyah, Albu- Ghanim and Soufiya, giving them a foothold to launch an attack into the city, AP reported.
The fighting in Anbar is a key test for Iraq’s military goal to push the militants out of the country. Iraq’s leaders decided to make a push in Anbar, located along the main roads linking Baghdad to the Syrian border, before launching an offensive into Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. The militants entered Iraq from Syria, where they have been fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad.
“Ramadi is vital for liberating Mosul,” Jensen said.
Some residents of Anbar sided with the Islamic State militants because they are fellow Sunnis and have been alienated by Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government. Other tribes fought against the militants and complained that Baghdad’s central government did not provide them with enough support.
Washington has encouraged the Iraqi government to provide the Sunni tribes with arms and other support to carry out the fight against the extremists.
“Baghdad is not speaking realistically about what’s happening and what it claims to be doing for Sunni fighters,” Jensen said.
Meanwhile, al-Abadi expressed worry Wednesday about the conflict in Yemen, saying his government is “uneasy” about U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia, which is carrying out airstrikes against Shiite rebels there. AlAbadi told reporters the conflict “has all the potential to become a sectarian war,” AP said.