Iraqi premier: Campaign focusing next on Anbar, Baiji
WASHINGTON — Iraq's prime minister says his forces intend to liberate the western Anbar province and secure the strategic town of Baiji before taking aim at the northern city of Mosul, which has been held by Islamic State fighters since last June.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi discussed the military campaign in an interview Wednesday with a small group of American reporters a day after he met with President Barack Obama.
Yet after a strategic Iraqi victory in Tikrit, south of Baiji, the Islamic State group launched its own offensive in Anbar Wednesday. It captured three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi.
The recapture of Tikrit was the Iraqi government's first major victory in Iraq's Sunni heartland.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi discussed the military campaign in an interview Wednesday with a small group of American reporters a day after he met with President Barack Obama.
Yet after a strategic Iraqi victory in Tikrit, south of Baiji, the Islamic State group launched its own offensive in Anbar Wednesday. It captured three villages near the provincial capital of Ramadi.
The recapture of Tikrit was the Iraqi government's first major victory in Iraq's Sunni heartland.