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Iraqi militias head to Anbar after fall of provincial capital to Isis
Iraqi defence ministry says reinforcements on the way after Islamic
Monday 18 May 2015 05.37
Iraqi militias have begun mobilising towards the predominantly Sunni Anbar province in a belated effort to push back against Islamic State, which seized the region’s capital city on Sunday.
“We invite our people in Anbar to remain steadfast and hold their ground as reinforcements from your brothers in Hashd al-Shaabi are coming,” the Iraqi defence ministry said. The Hashd is a conglomerate of fighters including mainly Shia militias and pro-government local Sunni fighters who have taken up arms against Isis.
On Sunday Isis said it had established full control over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province. It is the second provincial capital to be taken by Isis since Mosul was conquered in a lightning offensive last June, and its fall represents the biggest defeat since then for the government in Baghdad.
About 500 people have been killed in the fighting for Ramadi in recent days and between 6,000 and 8,000 have fled, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.
The US-led coalition against Isis launched seven air strikes targeting the group in Ramadi on Sunday, signalling growing alarm at its surge in the area.
Anbar is particularly symbolic because the precursor to Isis was ousted from the region by local Sunni tribes with American backing, in what was known as the Anbar awakening.
Ramadi had been under pressure after much of Anbar fell to Isis during its offensive last summer. Late last week security forces withdrew from their main command headquarters in the city under an intensified assault by the militants.
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Iraqi defence ministry says reinforcements on the way after Islamic
Monday 18 May 2015 05.37
Iraqi militias have begun mobilising towards the predominantly Sunni Anbar province in a belated effort to push back against Islamic State, which seized the region’s capital city on Sunday.
“We invite our people in Anbar to remain steadfast and hold their ground as reinforcements from your brothers in Hashd al-Shaabi are coming,” the Iraqi defence ministry said. The Hashd is a conglomerate of fighters including mainly Shia militias and pro-government local Sunni fighters who have taken up arms against Isis.
On Sunday Isis said it had established full control over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, Iraq’s largest province. It is the second provincial capital to be taken by Isis since Mosul was conquered in a lightning offensive last June, and its fall represents the biggest defeat since then for the government in Baghdad.
About 500 people have been killed in the fighting for Ramadi in recent days and between 6,000 and 8,000 have fled, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.
The US-led coalition against Isis launched seven air strikes targeting the group in Ramadi on Sunday, signalling growing alarm at its surge in the area.
Anbar is particularly symbolic because the precursor to Isis was ousted from the region by local Sunni tribes with American backing, in what was known as the Anbar awakening.
Ramadi had been under pressure after much of Anbar fell to Isis during its offensive last summer. Late last week security forces withdrew from their main command headquarters in the city under an intensified assault by the militants.
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