This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/26/iraq-launches-counterattack-against-isis-ramadi

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Iraq launches counterattack against Isis near Ramadi Iraq launches counterattack against Isis near Ramadi
(about 2 hours later)
Iraq has announced the launch of a military operation to drive Islamic State out of the western Anbar province, where the extremists captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, this month.Iraq has announced the launch of a military operation to drive Islamic State out of the western Anbar province, where the extremists captured the provincial capital, Ramadi, this month.
Related: Rout of Ramadi reawakens Iraq to 'brutal reality'Related: Rout of Ramadi reawakens Iraq to 'brutal reality'
Iraqi state TV reported the start of the operation, in which troops will be backed by Shia and Sunni paramilitary forces, but did not provide further details.Iraqi state TV reported the start of the operation, in which troops will be backed by Shia and Sunni paramilitary forces, but did not provide further details.
A spokesman for Iraq’s Shia militias said the operation will “not last for a long time” and that Iraqi forces have surrounded the provincial capital, Ramadi, from three sides.
Ahmed al-Assadi, who is also a member of parliament, told reporters that new weapons are being used in the battle “that will surprise the enemy”.
Isis began to seize large parts of Anbar from early 2014. The fall of Ramadi marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the extremists over the past year with the help of US-led air strikes.Isis began to seize large parts of Anbar from early 2014. The fall of Ramadi marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the extremists over the past year with the help of US-led air strikes.
Related: US defense secretary says fall of Ramadi shows Iraqi forces lack will to fight IsisRelated: US defense secretary says fall of Ramadi shows Iraqi forces lack will to fight Isis
Security forces and Sunni militiamen who had been battling the extremists in Ramadi for months collapsed as Isis fighters overran the city. The militants gained not only new territory 70 miles (115km) west of Baghdad, but large stocks of weapons abandoned by the government forces as they fled.Security forces and Sunni militiamen who had been battling the extremists in Ramadi for months collapsed as Isis fighters overran the city. The militants gained not only new territory 70 miles (115km) west of Baghdad, but large stocks of weapons abandoned by the government forces as they fled.
The capture of Ramadi was a major blow to the US-backed strategy against Isis. Defence secretary Ash Carter said on Sunday that Iraqi forces had “vastly outnumbered” the Isis militants in Ramadi but “showed no will to fight”. The capture of Ramadi was a major blow to the US-backed strategy against Isis.
Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, said the government was surprised by Carter’s remarks, and that the defence secretary “was likely given incorrect information”. Vice-President Joe Biden spoke on Monday to the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to reassure him of US support, a day after controversial remarks by the defence secretary, Ash Carter, sparked a war of words over Isis’s recent military successes.
Abadi has called on Shia militias to help Iraqi troops retake the Sunni province of Anbar. The militia has played a key role in clawing back territory from Isis elsewhere in Iraq but rights groups accuse them of looting, destroying property and carrying out revenge attacks. Militia leaders deny the allegations. Carter told CNN on Saturday Iraqi forces had shown “no will to fight” Isis and had fled in Ramadi despite outnumbering the militants. Isis also captured Palmyra, in Syria, last week.
A spokesman for Abadi subsequently told the Associated Press Carter had been given “incorrect information”, and said: “We should not judge the whole army based on one incident.”
A White House statement on Monday said Biden recognised “the enormous sacrifice and bravery” that Iraqi forces had displayed over the past 18 months in Ramadi and elsewhere, and welcomed an Iraqi decision to mobilise additional troops and prepare for counter-attack operations.
Nonetheless, rival powers and allies traded barbs and accusations over the recent successes of Islamic State, amid warnings that it may execute hundreds of hostages captured in its latest battles.
In Iran Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the external operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, said the US had “no will” to fight Isis.
“Today, there is nobody in confrontation with [Isis] except the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as nations who are next to Iran or supported by Iran,” Soleimani told a daily newspaper, Javan, on Monday.
Soleimani said US fighter jets had done nothing to halt the Isis advance on Ramadi, and said the US was complicit in the group’s expansion.