With the loss of Anbar Province capital Ramadi, Iraqi military forces today announced the deployment of tanks and artillery to the Anbar frontier, as part of what they termed the impending “Battle of Anbar.”
The deployments come a day after the government issued a call to arms to Shi’ite militias, and some 3,000 militias have advanced to a nearby airbase, preparing to confront ISIS.
At the same time, ISIS has new tanks of its own in the area around Ramadi, because the Iraqi troops fleeing the city left them behind.
That makes the new deployments potentially even riskier, both because ISIS has the same equipment, and because wavering Iraqi military morale means anything deployed to the front lines may well just end up in ISIS hands.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
- Pompeo Rejects EU Appeal for Iran Sanctions Exemptions - July 16th, 2018
- US Commander: Afghan ISIS Resilient to US Attacks, Almost Impossible to Defeat - July 16th, 2018
- Israel Attacks on Aleppo Air Base Killed at Least 22 - July 16th, 2018
- White House Orders Diplomats to Seek Direct Talks With Afghan Taliban - July 16th, 2018
- US Airstrikes Kill at Least Eight Civilians in Eastern Syria - July 16th, 2018
Hey, American Embassy in the Green Zone…have you started shredding all those "secrets" yet? Maybe that's what the politicians in DC are waiting for…for the moment when the embassy comes under attack so they can "morally" put boots on the ground to protect all that American taxpayer money they put into the building of the embassy.
Gee, nobody could have seen this coming…
Heckuva Job, BUSH