In Anbar, Maj. Gen. Ismail Al Mahlawi, the head of Iraqi military operations in the province, said his troops were readying to push “towards the government complex and the Houz area” in central Ramadi.
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The Iraqis use of combined arms operations – two or more types of units conducting simultaneous missions – against the Islamic State group is “a significant milestone in what we’re doing here”.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has extended its support to the Iraqi Government to regain control of the city of Ramadi, Iraq, from ISIS.
Obama alluded to the new commando force when he said in an Oval Office address Sunday that thousands of Iraqi and Syrian ground forces are trying to retake territory from the Islamic State and that USA special operations forces are being deployed to “accelerate that offensive”.
“The United States is prepared to assist the Iraqi army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the fight, including attack helicopters and accompanying advisers, if circumstances dictate and if requested by Prime Minister (Haider) al-Abadi”, Carter said.
Also during the hearing, Carter expressed frustration with Sunni Arab allies who he said could do more to help with the effort against the Islamic State.
He also said the Iraqi army has had only one soldier killed in action against the Islamic State dur-ing the week’s assault on Ramadi.
USA forces have been involved in airstrikes and training assistance in the region for 16 months without a new military force authorization for the mission, which Obama called for Congress to provide in the televised address.
“We are not winning this war, and time is not on our side”, McCain stated.
He said putting US and other coalition troops on the front line will provide intelligence about Islamic State fighters that air surveillance alone can’t provide.
Reuters has previously reported on the possible deployment of Apache attack helicopters, and USA forces to operate them, to bolster Iraq’s fight against the group.
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, Gen. Odierno said Wednesday that “you can’t defeat ISIS or destroy ISIS without having people on the ground”.
The US does not exercise command and control over these forces, but “we exercise influence”, Selva said.
A member of Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces flashes the V sign for victory in the al-Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, on December 9, 2015.
Iraqi forces are preparing to push further into the city center of the Islamic State-held city of Ramadi following significant advances on the Anbar provincial capital the previous day, the Associated Press reports.
Daesh had already destroyed all other bridges leading into Ramadi, including those on the Warar River, in a bid to halt the advance of Iraq’s military and its allied volunteer fighters.
The Iraqi forces in May lost Ramadi to IS fighters, triggering an unusual anger from Carter, who at that time accused the Iraqis of lacking “will to fight”.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the U.S. is building momentum against ISIS while some skeptical lawmakers say progress is too slow to keep up with the terrorists.
Several senators asked about Islamic State’s reach online, which has encouraged people such as the San Bernardino attackers.
Displaced civilians from Ramadi and around the area leave their hometowns towards Baghdad.
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The US, Iraq’s top ally in its war against IS – which was seized nearly a third of the country’s territories in the north and west since late previous year – holds that it should be regular Iraqi security forces and anti-IS Sunni volunteers trained by the US advisors who liberate Anbar, and maintains that the US is playing a supporting role in the operation.
