Iraqi forces seize key area en route to Ramadi
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi forces have reportedly seized an area south of the ISIS-held city of Ramadi previously used by the extremists to truck in reinforcements, weapons and supplies, the Anbar provincial council announced.
“Iraqi forces backed by tribal gunmen and with air support from Iraqi warplanes lunched a military operation on Ankoud area, south of Ramadi, a position used by Daesh for delivering support to the group,” Azaal Fahdawi, a member of the council, told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Iraq earlier on Tuesday announced the start of a military campaign to drive ISIS out of western Anbar province. The extremists captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, earlier this month.
“The joint operation to recapture Ramadi has already begun in areas such as Ankoud and is moving towards Anbar University and Sajariya,” a source from Anbar police told local media on Tuesday.
The source added that the Iraqi military leadership has a “concrete” and “careful” plan to drive ISIS from Ramadi.
Meanwhile, Hamid Maliki, an Iraqi Air Force commander, estimated that 20 ISIS fighters Iraqi airstrikes inside the city of Ramadi.
The Iraqi Army has been criticized by local and foreign officials for its major defeat in Ramadi, where some units withdrew as ISIS took control of the area. US Secretary of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN on Sunday that the Iraqi forces "lack the will" to fight the jihadists.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed in a BBC interview on Sunday that Ramadi can be recaptured from ISIS “in days."
“Iraqi forces backed by tribal gunmen and with air support from Iraqi warplanes lunched a military operation on Ankoud area, south of Ramadi, a position used by Daesh for delivering support to the group,” Azaal Fahdawi, a member of the council, told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Iraq earlier on Tuesday announced the start of a military campaign to drive ISIS out of western Anbar province. The extremists captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, earlier this month.
“The joint operation to recapture Ramadi has already begun in areas such as Ankoud and is moving towards Anbar University and Sajariya,” a source from Anbar police told local media on Tuesday.
The source added that the Iraqi military leadership has a “concrete” and “careful” plan to drive ISIS from Ramadi.
Meanwhile, Hamid Maliki, an Iraqi Air Force commander, estimated that 20 ISIS fighters Iraqi airstrikes inside the city of Ramadi.
The Iraqi Army has been criticized by local and foreign officials for its major defeat in Ramadi, where some units withdrew as ISIS took control of the area. US Secretary of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN on Sunday that the Iraqi forces "lack the will" to fight the jihadists.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi claimed in a BBC interview on Sunday that Ramadi can be recaptured from ISIS “in days."