The Iraqi army, police and allied Sunni and Shiite militias, known as Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, advanced in the early hours of the day from their positions toward the IS-held city of Ramadi, some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Ahmed al-Asadi, spokesman of the Hashd Shaabi, said in a press conference broadcast by the state-run channel of Iraqiya.
He said that the Iraqi forces now are moving toward Ramadi from three directions and managed to cut the IS supplying routes in south of Ramadi, preparing for liberating the city, Asadi said.
Late on May 17, the IS militants took full control of Ramadi after the Iraqi security forces withdrew from their positions in the headquarters of the army's 8th Brigade and the provincial operations command.
The rapid retreat of the security forces and the fall of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's largest province, was seen as a setback to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's efforts to defeat the IS group in Anbar province and then to free the IS-held city of Mosul in the north.
In Salahudin province, Asadi said that the security forces and Hasd Saabi started in the early morning hours a new operation dubbed "Labaiyka Ya Hussein," or (We are at your service, Hussein), who is one of the most revered Imam among the 12 Shiite Imams.
He said the operation was designed to free the areas in the western part of Salahudin province and the northern part of the neighboring Anbar province from the IS militants.
Since March 2, some 30,000 Iraqi troops and thousands of allied Shiite and Sunni militias have involved in Iraq's biggest offensive to recapture the northern part of Salahudin province, including Tikrit and other key towns and villages, from IS militants.
The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since June 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS.
Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
26/5/15
--
-
Related:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Iraq starts operation to drive Islamic State from Anbar...
ReplyDeleteIraqi government forces have formally launched an operation to drive Islamic State (IS) out of Anbar province.
The announcement was made by a spokesman for the Popular Mobilisation (al-Hashd al-Shaabi), a volunteer force comprising dozens of Shia militias.
The operation would see troops and militiamen move southwards from Salahuddin province and seek to cut off IS militants in Ramadi, he said.
The provincial capital fell to IS this month after Iraq's army withdrew.
Since then government forces have been massing for a counter-attack, and they say they have regained some ground east of Ramadi in the past few days.
On Tuesday, fighting was reported south and west of Ramadi, as the Iraqi forces tried to cut off supply routes to the city.......BBC
26/5/15
US needs to rethink Iraq strategy, says Obama...
ReplyDeletePresident Barack Obama said the US and its allies need to examine whether they are deploying military assets effectively against Islamic State militants as Iraq mounts a new offensive to recapture territory west of Baghdad.
The White House says it already is responding to demands by Iraqi fighters for more powerful anti-tank weapons to confront armored vehicles that the Islamic State has used as potent and deadly car bombs.
The U.S. attention to supplying higher-grade military equipment came after Defense Secretary Ash Carter over the weekend criticized Iraqi forces, saying their men fled the Islamic State advance on Ramadi without fighting back.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended Carter's remarks, saying the Iraqi government acknowledged that the setback in Ramadi was the result of a breakdown in command and planning. Moreover, Earnest said, the Iraqi forces in Ramadi had not benefited from U.S. or allied training.....AP....france24.com