The U.S. Defense Department is challenging the Islamic State group’s claim that it has seized Ramadi. A Pentagon spokesman said that the situation on the ground is unclear and that the U.S.-led coalition is supporting the Iraqis with airpower.
On Sunday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve conducted seven airstrikes that targeted several IS tactical units, destroying four resupply structures, three fighting positions, two insurgent-held buildings, two heavy machine guns and two vehicles.
Airstrikes also were conducted against IS targets near Bayji, Fallujah, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar.
The IS group fought its way to Ramadi’s center Friday. The final push by militants began Sunday with bombings that killed at least 10 Iraqi security force personnel. Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi urged Iraqi forces not to abandon their posts and ordered Shi’ite militia to prepare to enter the fight for Anbar province.....voanews.com
18/5/15
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Shi'ite forces ordered to deploy after fall of Iraqi city...
ReplyDeleteShi'ite paramilitaries were preparing to deploy to Iraq's western province of Anbar on Monday after Islamic State militants overran the provincial capital Ramadi in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer.
The U.S.-led coalition stepped up air raids against the Islamists, conducting 19 strikes in the vicinity of Ramadi over the past 72 hours at the request of the Iraqi security forces, a coalition spokesman said.
A spokesman for the paramilitaries, which are known as Hashid Shaabi, told Reuters they had received orders to mobilize, but details could not be revealed for security reasons.
"Now that the Hashid has received the order to march forward, they will definitely take part," said Ali al-Sarai, a member of the Hashid Shaabi's media wing. "They were waiting for this order and now they have it.".....REUTERS
18/5/15
Shiite militias head to Ramadi in bid to oust IS group...
ReplyDeleteShiite militias converged on Ramadi Monday in a bid to recapture it from jihadists who dealt the Iraqi government a stinging blow by overrunning the city in a deadly three-day blitz.
The loss of the capital of Iraq's largest province was Baghdad's worst military setback since it started clawing back territory from the Islamic State group late last year.
Days after a rare message from IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urging mass mobilisation, the group came close to also seizing one of Syria's most famed heritage sites, ancient Palmyra, but the army pinned it back.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had been reluctant to deploy Shiite militias to Anbar province for fear of alienating its overwhelmingly Sunni Arab population.
He favoured developing locally recruited forces, a policy that had strong US support.
But militia commanders said on Monday that Ramadi's fall had shown that the government could not do without the Popular Mobilisation units (Hashed al-Shaabi).
Badr militia chief Hadi al-Ameri said the province's leaders should have taken up his offer of help sooner....france24.com
18/5/15
Nearly 25,000 flee Ramadi amid ISIL attacks and heavy fighting, says UN relief wing...
ReplyDeleteWith stocks running low and funds running out, United Nations aid agencies are rushing humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the city of Ramadi in central Iraq for the second time this month, according to the UN office tasked with coordinating relief operations.
“Nothing is more important right now than helping the people fleeing Ramadi. They are in trouble and we need to do everything possible to help them,” said Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. “Thousands of people had to sleep in the open because they didn't have places to stay. We would be able to do much more if we had the funding.”
Almost 25,000 people have fled Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, following recent attacks by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and fierce fighting in the city. Most of the displaced are heading towards Baghdad, with several thousands of families fleeing for the second time in a month.......un.org
18/5/15
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants searched door-to-door for policemen and pro-government fighters and threw bodies in the Euphrates River in a bloody purge Monday after capturing the strategic city of Ramadi, their biggest victory since overrunning much of northern and western Iraq last year...
ReplyDeleteSome 500 civilians and soldiers died in the extremist killing spree since the final push for Ramadi began Friday, authorities said.
Responding to a call from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, hundreds of Iranian-allied Shiite militiamen rushed to a military base near Ramadi, the capital of overwhelming Sunni Anbar province, to prepare for an assault to try to retake the city, Anbar officials said.
The order came despite Obama administration concerns that the presence of Shiite fighters in the Sunni-dominated region could spark sectarian bloodshed.......http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/19/ISIS-militants-look-for-collaborators-after-taking-Iraqi-city.html
19/5/15
Despite US strikes, ISIL advances in Syria, Iraq ...
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group has made several high-profile advances in recent days, despite a US-led air campaign against the movement in Syria and Iraq.
On May 17, the ISIL fighters seized Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s largest province of Anbar, in their biggest victory since a major offensive in Iraq last summer.
Iraq’s army and allied paramilitary forces massed around Ramadi on May 19, looking for swift action to recapture the city from the ISIL group before it builds up defenses.
With his security strategy in tatters and his authority facing its biggest challenge since he took office eight months ago, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was looking for quick redemption.
Reeling from the worst setback since ISIL grabbed swathes of territory in June last year, he called in the Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization units (Hashed al-Shaabi).
“The Hashed have started to arrive in areas east of Ramadi,” said army Brigadier General Ali al-Majidi, speaking to AFP from a base west of Baghdad.
The group has also moved to within a kilometer of Syria’s Palmyra world heritage site, and has seized the town of Al-Sukhnah and two gas fields northeast of the ancient city.
The advances expand the existing territory the group holds across Syria and Iraq, the land it has labelled an Islamic “caliphate.”
The fall of Ramadi is a particular blow to Iraq’s government, which only last month was touting its recapture of the city of Tikrit from the jihadist group...AFP...hurriyetdailynews.com
19/5/15
Ramadi battle: Iraq calls for volunteers for IS fight...
ReplyDeleteIraq's government has called for volunteers to fight against Islamic State and help retake the city of Ramadi.
A cabinet statement said a voluntary recruitment drive was necessary to fill shortages in squads in the west of Anbar province.
Thousands have fled Ramadi since its capture by IS on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the US National Security Council said it was considering "how best to support local ground forces".
Spokesman Alistair Baskey told AFP that some of the measures may include "accelerating the training and equipping of local tribes and supporting an Iraqi-led operation to retake Ramadi".
A more detailed announcement could come within days.
President Barack Obama has been briefed by advisers and "reaffirmed the strong US support" for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Stand united
Islamic State militants have been setting up defensive positions in Ramadi, witnesses say.
After a Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, the Iraqi prime minister vowed to prosecute forces who fled the city in the wake of the IS attacks.
Mr Abadi said the Iraqi people needed to "stand unified" and called for voluntary recruitment to the army. He also pledged to recruit and arm tribal fighters....BBC
UN warns of exhaustion of humanitarian stocks in Ramadi ...
ReplyDeleteUN agencies are rushing humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the war-torn Iraqi city of Ramadi, but warned of insufficient humanitarian stocks and funding, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said here Tuesday at a daily news briefing.
Nearly 25,000 people have fled Ramadi, following attacks and fierce fighting by the Islamic State militant group in the city. Most of the displaced are fleeing towards Baghdad, with many trying to enter through security checkpoints, said Haq.
In response to urgent requests from Iraqi authorities, the World Food Programme has distributed thousands of immediate response rations, sufficient for three days, and will be distributing food at locations where internally displaced people are concentrating for safety, he said.
"The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Organization for Migration are distributing thousands of emergency kits with drinking water, hygiene items and other essential supplies," he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent mobile health teams and ambulances to areas where the displaced are fleeing, according to the spokesman...http://www.china.org.cn/world/2015-05/20/content_35612873.htm
20/5/15
Islamic State fighters overrun Iraqi govt lines east of Ramadi...
ReplyDeleteIslamic State militants overran Iraqi government defences east of the city of Ramadi on Thursday, police and pro-government tribal fighters said.
The defensive line was breached at Husaiba, about 10 km (six miles) from the city, on Thursday afternoon after IS fighters intensified mortar and rocket fire.
“The situation is very critical now after Daesh (IS) fighters managed to overrun our defensive line in Husaiba," Police major Khalid al-Fahdawi said.
"We have retreated to the eastern part of the area and we’re waiting for more reinforcements and air force strikes to stop the Daesh advance.” ...REUTERS
21/5/15
Battlefield Gains for IS Raise Fears of Assault on Baghdad ...
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic State group seized the last government-held border crossing to Iraq early Friday, the latest in a series of terrotorial gains for the terror group, and there are mounting fears the group could soon launch an assault on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
Now in full control of the Syrian city of Palmyra, Islamic State fighters tear down pro-government banners and portraits of President Bashar al-Assad from the walls of a gas facility on the outskirts of town.
There are fears that their next target will be the spectacular ruins of the ancient city. The conquering of Palmyra was a victory for Islamic State militants' battlefield strategy, said Sajjan Gohel, International Security Director at the Asia Pacific Foundation.
“They realize very quickly where they may be losing ground, like in Kobani, and then they relocate to a different part of Iraq or Syria to plot and plan a new attempt to take a city or town," Gohel said.........http://www.voanews.com/content/battlefield-gains-for-islamic-state-raise-fears-of-assault-on-baghdad/2786768.html
23/5/15
The United States and its allies have staged 22 air strikes on Islamic State targets since Friday, including four near Ramadi, the city taken by the militants this week, the US military said on Saturday...
ReplyDeleteCoalition forces also attacked five Islamic State sites in Syria between Friday and Saturday, a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force said.
The strikes near Ramadi hit tactical units, armored vehicles and a fighting position in militant-controlled territory.
JPOST BY REUTERS
23/5/15