Carter, who has openly questioned Iraqi forces’ will to fight, is in Iraq to assess the progress the Shiite-led government is making in improving state security forces and recruiting Iraqi Sunnis to fight an militants with formidable military prowess and popular appeal. This is Carter’s first visit to the Middle Eastern nation since he took office in February.
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President Barack Obama responded last month by ordering 450 more US troops to set up at Taqaddum base, which is closer to the fighting in Anbar province and only about 15 miles (25km) from Ramadi.
Share with Us – We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism. But he said the U.S. has no independent confirmation of that. He spent about 20 minutes watching Iraqi soldiers in their trademark all-black uniforms manoeuvre and fire at silhouette targets at a firing range. He watched a team of elite soldiers – in all-black uniforms and some with black masks – conduct shooting drills.
Nor, according to Pentagon policy, can the US provide air support for forces outside Iraqi government command. “So it’s a privilege for us to be your partners”, he told the commanders of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service Academy.
Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad, said Carter’s visit was unannounced for security reasons. A US-led coalition is supporting the operation with air strikes.
Iraqi army forces will lead the attack, aided by Shia militiamen.
“They are essentially operating together, but without a strict and formalized command and control relationship being established”, Warren said. The administration instead has sent arms through the central government, reasoning that this preserves the hope of avoiding a final division of the country into sectarian and ethnic enclaves.
He pointed to the fact that Iraqi forces were not outnumbered in Ramadi, yet they had abandoned their weapons and equipment, including dozens of American-supplied weapons.
The United States estimates there are about 1,000 to 2,000 Daesh fighters in Ramadi, AP reported.
Iraqi volunteer fighters guard a position on July 15, 2015 on the northern outskirts of the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, during an offensive to retake Anbar’s capital, Ramadi.
Warren said this week that those forces aimed to “place a noose around the city and isolate it” from militants elsewhere.
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The official described the assault on Ramadi as in an “isolation” phase, in which the city is encircled to deprive ISIS of resupply.
