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Islamic State seizes third Iraqi army base in Anbar after military retreat Islamic State seizes third Iraqi army base in Anbar after military retreat
(about 4 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Islamic State fighters seized control of another Iraqi army base Monday — the third to fall in three weeks — to give the militants a further foothold in attempts to push closer toward Baghdad. BAGHDAD — Islamic State fighters on Monday seized control of an army base in western Iraq, the third to fall in three weeks, as Iraqi forces in the region appeared close to collapse despite U.S.-led airstrikes.
Iraq officials described the pullback from near Hit — about 85 miles west of the capital — as a “tactical retreat” and claimed it hauled away equipment and burned food supplies to deny the Islamic State more provisions and firepower. Iraqi officials described the pullback from near Hit — a town in Anbar province about 115 miles west of the capital — as a “tactical retreat” and said the army hauled away equipment and burned food supplies to deny the Islamic State provisions and firepower. The withdrawal came just hours after the U.S. Central Command said coalition forces had conducted airstrikes in the area.
But the Islamic State’s gain in the Anbar Province was a major blow to security forces struggling to hold territory despite U.S.-led airstrikes. Sunni-dominated Anbar has become a critical battleground in attempts to keep the Islamic State offensive from reaching Iraq’s capital. The loss of the base deals another psychological blow to beleaguered Iraqi forces that have been battling Islamic State militants in Anbar for 10 months. Regional politicians have pleaded for increased U.S. support — with some even requesting a return of American ground troops — as fears grow that the province could fall completely.
In a sign of the concern, Iraqi officials are considering trying to bolster defenses by recruiting Sunni tribal militias to join the fight — a plan once used by the Pentagon against insurgent forces linked to al-Qaeda. The instability in Anbar has stoked fears that Islamic State fighters could use their gains to push into areas closer to the capital, including the volatile Abu Ghraib district, which lies just west of Baghdad’s international airport. So far Baghdad has stayed largely out of the Islamic State’s firing range, though the group has carried out sporadic mortar attacks and regular suicide bombings in the capital.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said he did not foresee the Islamic State preparing for a direct assault on Baghdad, but predicted the city will face “indirect fire” — a term that often refers to long-range shelling. The situation in Anbar is in contrast to events in northern Iraq, where U.S. airstrikes, backed by Kurdish ground forces, have reversed some of the Islamic State’s gains.
“I have no doubt there will be days when they use indirect fire into Baghdad,” Dempsey said in an interview Sunday with ABC’s “This Week.” President Obama has stressed that although the United States can provide air support, the war is for Iraq to fight. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond reiterated that position during a visit to Baghdad on Monday.
Meanwhile in Syria, at least four U.S. airstrikes were carried out since Sunday in attempts to drive back Islamic State fighters around the border town of Kobane, the U.S. Central Command said. “The coalition can only deliver effective support to the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces,” Hammond said at a news conference. “The Iraqi people, the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi government will have to take the lead on the ground.”
The battle for Kobane also has sharpened the talks between the United States and NATO ally Turkey over ways to expand the attacks against the Islamic State. Turkey has refused to send its powerful military over the border while it presses its demands, including creation of a border buffer zone in Syria. But turning the Iraqi security apparatus into a fighting force capable of doing that remains a major challenge. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is attempting to reach out to Sunni tribal leaders to engage them in the fight — but there is an underlying mistrust of the Shiite-led government.
On Monday, Turkey denied it had reached any “new agreement” with the United States over the use of an American air base Incirlik in southern Turkey for attacks against the Islamic State, refuting claims by Department of Defense officials. The army, meanwhile, is plagued by desertions, corruption and a collapse in morale.
In Iraq, the Islamic State used the loudspeakers of mosques to trumpet its takeover of the Iraqi 7th Division base near Hit. The town on the Euphrates River was seized by the militants on Oct. 2. “We don’t have any leadership,” complained one officer who fled the base near Hit on Monday and declined to give his name for fear of being reprimanded. “We could have kept our base with some simple reinforcements and ammunition.”
The string of defeats in Anbar have exposed the limitations of the U.S. and coalition airstrikes in combating Islamic State with Iraqi ground forces in disarray. The U.S. Central Command said coalition strikes destroyed an Islamic State vehicle and an armored personnel carrier in the vicinity of Hit on Sunday, but Iraqi soldiers said that did not prevent the militants from launching an assault on the army base. By 3 a.m., the about 400 Iraqi troops in the facility received orders to retreat.
But British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond said Iraq’s commanders and political leaders — particularly in Anbar — must rise to the challenge posed by the Islamic State. The Islamic State used mosque loudspeakers to trumpet its takeover of the Iraqi 7th Division base. The group had seized Hit, which lies along the Euphrates River, on Oct. 2.
“The coalition can only deliver effective support to the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces,” he said during talks in Baghdad, according to the Associated Press. “The Iraqi people, the Iraqi security forces and Iraqi government will have to take the lead on the ground.” Suleman al-Qubaisi, a spokesman for Anbar’s provincial council, said officials in the region have urgently requested Abadi to dispatch 4,000 additional soldiers to the region.
The U.S. Central Command said coalition strikes an Islamic State armed vehicle and an armored personnel carrier in the vicinity of Hit on Sunday, but the militants still managed to launch an offensive on the army base, soldiers said. By 3 a.m., the approximately 400 troops received orders to retreat. In Syria, meanwhile, at least four U.S. airstrikes have been carried out since Sunday in attempts to drive back Islamic State fighters around the border town of Kobane, the Central Command said.
“We don’t have any leadership,” complained one officer who was present and declined to give his name for fear of being reprimanded. “We could have kept our base with some simple reinforcements and ammunition.” The battle for Kobane has sharpened the tenor of talks between the United States and NATO ally Turkey over ways to expand the multinational campaign against the Islamic State. Turkey has refused to send its powerful military over the border while it presses its demands, including the creation of a buffer zone in Syria along the frontier.
Suleman al-Qubaisi, a spokesman for Anbar provincial council, said officials in the region have put in an urgent request to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for 4,000 additional soldiers to be dispatched to the region. On Monday, Turkey denied it had reached any “new agreement” with the United States to allow the use of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey for strikes against the Islamic State, despite suggestions by the Obama administration that a deal had been reached.
Militants first gained a foothold in Anbar — the most deadly province for U.S. troops during the Iraq War — in January, and Iraqi security forces have been struggling to reverse their gains ever since. Mustafa Salim in Baghdad, Liz Sly in Sanliurfa, Turkey, and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
“We are very much afraid,” said one 36-year-old resident of Hit. “Now there are Islamic State checkpoints and they are in the government buildings. If the military start bombing them it will be the civilians who suffer.”
loveday.morris@washpost.com
brian.murphy@washpost.com
Mustafa Salim in Baghdad and Liz Sly in Sanliurfa, Turkey, contributed to this report.