And, he said, the Pentagon is prepared to deploy advisers and attack helicopters-if the prime minister of Iraq wants them-to the region to “finish the job”.
Advertisement
Palestinian killed after alleged Jerusalem vehicle attack
In recent months, Israeli forces have destroyed the family homes of several Palestinians for allegedly attacking Israelis. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says police arrested a suspect in his 30s from the West Bank village of Beit Sira.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, to testify before the Senate Armed Service Committee hearing on the Islamic State.
Donald Trump up 4 points over Ted Cruz in Quinnipiac poll
Then, impersonating Clinton’s voice, he continued, ” Donald Trump is on video, and ISIS is using him on the video to recruit”. Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Tim Malloy questioned what the findings mean for Trump’s White House run.
Carter said he wishes the Sunni-Arab Gulf States and the Europeans would all “do more”. The terror group has taken over vast swaths of Iraq and neighboring Syria while creating what it calls the Islamic State in addition to inspiring and carrying out attacks elsewhere. Citing distrust of the Shia-led Iraqi government, they urged the committee to consider a similar measure that would expedite the provision of USA equipment and training directly to Sunni forces willing to fight IS.
USA calls on Turkey to pull unauthorized forces from Iraq
The recent focus has been the battle in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, which IS militants took in May. Iraqi forces have been preparing to try to take the city back, encircling it.
The fall of Ramadi was the biggest blow to Iraqi forces since IS captured Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul in the summer of 2014.
Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S. military command in Baghdad, announced the deaths of Abu Salah, known as Isis’ financial minister, Abu Maryam, an “enforcer and senior leader of their [Isis] extortion network”, and Abu Rahman al-Tunisi, an “executive officer” who handles the transfer of information, people and weapons.
“It is strongly believed by me and many others that as long as Raqqa is held and other areas are held, it dramatically increases the chance of another attack in our country”, Donnelly said.
“For the first time in Iraq and the Arab world, Chinese drones of the CH4 model have entered duty and we conducted operations using them more than two weeks ago covering vast areas, almost 250 kilometers from the city of Baghdad, or more, giving us a strategic advantage over our enemy”, said aviation commander, Hamid al-Maliki.
While Iraqi forces were consolidating their gains, Warren, the coalition spokesman, said they also successfully repelled a number of IS counter-attacks Thursday with “significant” coalition air support.
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”. Residents have said the militants have prevented them from fleeing.
Carter said it also is “necessary” to “take action wherever else in the world this evil organization metastasizes”.
In his opening statement, Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “It is absolutely necessary to defeat ISIL” in Syria and Iraq.
Iraqi Major General Ismail al-Mahlawi, the head of military operations in the western Anbar province, said yesterday that the lock was the last remaining bridge from the city center to the northwest. “While we can enable them, we cannot substitute for them”.
Anthony Cordesman, a long-time Middle East defense expert at the Center for International Security Studies, says the commando force could be helpful if used as part of a broader USA strategy for developing effective local ground forces in both Syria and Iraq. He said putting USA and other coalition troops on the front line will provide intelligence about Islamic State fighters that air surveillance alone can’t provide.
He told The Associated Press on Wednesday the neighbourhood is the backbone of Daesh’s structure in Ramadi.
Advertisement
The recapture was a significant achievement in the battle to wrest neighborhoods in and around Ramadi from the Islamic State’s grasp.
