After Tikrit: Iraqi Forces Attack ISIS Fighters in Anbar

Voice of America ^ | 04/08/2015

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Iraqi security forces launched a new offensive against Islamic State insurgents in the Sunni Muslim heartland of Anbar province on Wednesday, seeking to build on last week’s victory over the jihadist group in the city of Tikrit.

Fighting began in the western province's desert terrain as Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi was touring Anbar, visiting Iraqi army units and pro-government Sunnis, his office said. Abadi was expected to address the nation from Anbar later in the day.

"Our next stand and battle will be from Anbar to liberate it entirely," Abadi said in a post on his official Facebook page. "We will prevail in Anbar as we prevailed in Tikrit."

Army officers said Islamic State militants were driven back on Wednesday in the Sijariya area east of Fallujah and Anbar's capital, Ramadi. The ultra-radical Sunni group has dominated both key cities in the region.

Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists were retreating from Sijariya, trading mortar fire with government forces, military sources said.

A senior Iraqi officer in Ramadi said Sijariya was being cleared to secure supply routes to the nearby Habbaniya air base and to weaken the jihadists' grip on territory connecting Ramadi and Falluja.

Large parts of Anbar had slipped from the government's grasp even before ISIS militants overran the northern city of Mosul last June and surged through Sunni areas of Iraq.

Security forces and Shi'ite Muslim paramilitaries have since regained some ground, although core Sunni territories remain under ISIS control.

Shi'ite militia have played a leading role in reversing the insurgents' advances, but officials from predominantly Sunni Anbar have expressed reservations about a role for Shi'ite paramilitary forces on the battlefield.

At news conference in Jordan, Iraq's defense minister said Abadi would oversee the distribution of weapons to Sunni tribal fighters in Anbar. "The battle for Anbar has begun."

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