BAGHDAD // Iraqi forces closed in on Ramadi on Tuesday and launched an operation aimed at cutting off the militants in Anbar province before a major offensive to retake the city.
Ten days after the ISIL group’s shock capture of the capital of Iraq’s largest province, a spokesman said the latest operation was only a preparatory move before an assault on Ramadi.
The operation will see a mix of security forces and paramilitaries move south towards the city from Salaheddin province, said Hashed Al Shaabi spokesman Ahmed Al Assadi.
The Hashed Al Shaabi is an umbrella group for mostly Shiite militia and volunteers, which the government called in after ISIL captured Ramadi on May 17. The group is also known as the popular mobilisation comiteees.
“The operation’s goal is to liberate those regions between Salaheddin and Anbar and try to isolate the province of Anbar,” Mr Al Assadi said.
He said it had been dubbed “Operation Labaik ya Hussein”, which roughly translates as “We are at your service, Hussein” and refers to one of the most revered imams in Shiite Islam.
The Pentagon said it was “unhelpful” for the militia to have chosen an openly sectarian code name for the operation.
The Hashed said 4,000 men were heading to the northern edge of Ramadi.
Prime minister Haider Al Abadi and his US allies had been reluctant to deploy Iran-backed Shiite militia in Anbar, a predominantly Sunni province.
Anbar’s provincial capital had resisted ISIL assaults for more than a year but fell earlier this month after a massive militant offensive and a chaotic retreat by security forces.
The ISIL controls most of Anbar, a huge province which borders territory also under its control in neighbouring Syria.
Pockets of government control include some eastern areas near the capital, the city of Haditha, parts of the town of Al Baghdadi and the Al Asad airbase, where hundreds of US military advisers are stationed.
Regular forces and Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitaries also made progress south and west of Ramadi, an army lieutenant colonel said, and retook an area called Al Taesh.
“The Iraqi security forces and Hashed Al Shaabi have now cut off all supply routes for IS in Ramadi from the south,” provincial council member Arkan Khalaf Al Tarmuz said.
Washington on Monday moved to appease Baghdad after Iraq’s leadership reacted angrily to comments by the Pentagon chief accusing Iraqi forces of “lacking the will to fight”.
Ashton Carter’s remarks to the CNN news channel were widely perceived as unfair in Iraq, where some forces have put up valiant resistance to ISIL assaults.
In a call to Mr Al Abadi, the White House quoted vice president Joe Biden as saying he “recognised the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces over the past 18 months in Ramadi and elsewhere”.
On Tuesday, US president Barack Obama said the US wants to support the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL. He said that meant the US needs to think about whether it is deploying its military assets in Iraq effectively.
The US-led coalition has carried out more than 3,000 strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria over the past 10 months.
In a 24-hour period ending Tuesday, the US and its allies staged 19 air strikes on ISIL targets.
Twelve of the strikes were near the Iraqi cities of Bayji, Fallujah, Hit, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar, hitting tactical units, vehicles, heavy machine guns and buildings.
Seven air strikes near Al Hasakah, Syria, hit tactical units, an Islamic State headquarters, fighting positions and a natural gas production plant.
Baghdad and Washington had boasted that ISIL was a waning force after months of territorial losses, but the fall of Ramadi signalled that the militant group may have been written off too soon.
Its seizure of the city prompted 55,000 residents to flee, according to the United Nations.
Many of them have been prevented from crossing into other provinces, for fear they have been infiltrated by ISIL fighters.
Some Sunni Arab politicians and activists have described the move as unconstitutional and discriminatory against the minority community.
The International Rescue Committee said the restriction was forcing some people to return to conflict areas.
“Thousands of people fleeing Ramadi are stuck at checkpoints or being denied entry to safe areas,” IRC’s Syrian crisis response regional director Mark Schnellbaecher said.
“For some people the situation has become so hopeless that they are returning to the conflict in Ramadi.”
* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters
