This sprawling district in northeast Baghdad has witnessed some of the worst violence to hit Baghdad this year as Islamic State group fighters have increasingly tuned to insurgent style terrorist attacks in the face of mounting battlefield losses in Iraq.
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Addressing the capabilities of ISIS, “we have to respect our enemies and respect their ability to adapt and adjust on the battlefield”, he said.
In response to the attacks – which have killed over 100 civilians and deeply unnerved the capital city – Iraqi officials were considering pulling some troops back to Baghdad for added security. The jihadists are “under massive military pressure” while there is “a political crisis that they can tie into for maximum chaos”, he said.
Asked if there were still IS fighters in the area, coalition spokesman Steve Warren said: “There’s still quite an amount”.
Iraq’s legislature has been paralyzed for weeks over an effort by Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to replace his politically appointed cabinet with technocrats.
Votel said he is concerned that the Islamic State’s onslaught on Baghdad could cause the Iraqi government and the Iraqi security forces to lose focus on key battleground goals such as recapturing the city of Mosul and seizing control of more areas of Anbar province.
But the militant group, which includes some former commanders in Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime, has proven resilient and adaptive. “We are seeing them see opportunities and take advantage of those opportunities”, he added.
“Iraq’s security forces, backed by coalition military airpower and the advice and assistance of coalition militaries from around the world, has been effective in driving ISIL out of territory that they previously controlled”, Earnest said.
Through the USA ambassador, the general said, “we’re very well linked in with the Iraqi political leadership, and certainly they have to address this, but I think there is a little concern that if this is not addressed quickly, it could cause them to have to take action and divert … political focus onto that as opposed to things like Mosul or finishing up activities out in Anbar”. Without discussing specifics about USA troop involvement, he said the American public should know that “it is going to be a long and hard fight”.
But Baghdad’s forces have since regained significant ground from IS with the backing of US-led air support and training, retaking the cities of Tikrit and Ramadi as well as numerous towns and villages. He said that there are between 10,000 and 12,000 fighters in Iraq, with the majority of them concentrated around Mosul, and another 10,000 and 12,000 fighters in Syria.
It said on May 19 that counterterrorism forces, backed by USA -led coalition air strikes, “completely liberated” the district, 360 kilometers west of Baghdad.
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Remnants regrouped in Syria to form IS, and then swept into western and northern Iraq in the first half of 2014. Al-Qaeda has since disowned the group and its proclaimed caliphate.
