ISIS Surrounds Key Iraqi Air Base in Anbar

Base, One of Iraq's Largest, Likely to Be Next Target

Just one day after ISIS forces seized an Iraqi military base on the outskirts of Hit, they are preparing a move against an even bigger site in the Anbar Province, one of the last significant Iraqi military presences there.

The new target seems to be the al-Assad airbase, the second largest airfields in Iraq, and one of the last bases around Haditha Dam. The base is now surrounded, according to reports.

Originally the Qadisiyah Airbase, the al-Assad base was massively expanded by the US, and was one of the largest US bases during the Iraq occupation.

ISIS has repeatedly pulled off this strategy in seizing smaller Anbar bases, surrounding them before pushing in and routing the troops trapped therein when their supplies get low.

ISIS holds some 80% of the Anbar Province, which is by far the largest province in Iraq. They have also seized portions of other provinces, and along with two whole provinces in Syria they have a massive, continuous state.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.