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WORLD NEWSWednesday 10 February
Iraqi government says it fully recaptured Ramadi from IS
S. GEORGE
Associated Press
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi
government forces have
regained full control of Ra-
madi after pushing Islamic
State group fighters out of
the city’s outskirts, accord- behind.
ing to Iraqi security forces
and the U.S.-led coalition.
The announcement, more
than a month after Ramadi
was first declared liberated
in December, underscores
the slow nature of Iraqi
ground operations despite
heavy backing from U.S.-
led coalition airstrikes.
The governor of Anbar
province praised Iraqi se-
curity forces and the U.S.-
led coalition for their work
to “liberate Ramadi com-
pletely,” but was quick to
emphasize that critical se-
curity and humanitarian
issues remained. Violence
has emptied Ramadi of
civilians and much of the
city remains blanketed in
homemade bombs, also
called improvised explo-
sive devices or IEDs, which
IS laid in retreat.
Col. Steve Warren, a
spokesman for the coali-
tion, told The Associated
Press that Iraqi security
forces have control of the
whole city but “untold
thousands” of improvised
explosive devices were left
Son of Iraqi Kurdish leader calls for aid to battle IS
BRAM JANSSEN
BALINT SZLANKO
Associated Press
SALAHUDDIN, Iraq (AP) — A
senior Iraqi Kurdish leader
on Tuesday called for in-
ternational aid to help fi-
nance the war against the
Islamic State group, saying
it’s a “miracle” that under-
paid Kurdish forces are still battling the Islamic extrem-
on the front lines.
Iraq’s largely autonomous
Kurdish region has seen
its revenues plummet be-
Iraqi security forces celebrate as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured in
Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi security forces and the U.S.-led coalition say the
government has regained full control of Ramadi after pushing Islamic State group fighters out of
the city’s outskirts.
Iraqi government troops,
led by the country’s elite
counterterrorism forces,
pushed IS out of the center
of Ramadi in December,
but struggled to take con-
trol of the city’s outskirts. Ex- scale returns of civilians.
plosives were a main factor
that slowed the clearing of
neighborhoods.
“The issue of IEDs is an ex-
tremely challenging one,”
Suhaib al-Rawi told report-
ers in Baghdad.
Iraqi forces allied with the
cause of low oil prices, a
dispute with Baghdad over
petroleum revenues and
an economic downturn
driven by the war with IS.
Iraqi Kurdish forces known
as the peshmerga have
long been close U.S. allies,
and are among the most
effective ground forces
ists.
But Masrour Barzani, son
of the regional President
Masoud Barzani and head
government have clawed
back pockets of territory
from the extremist group
in recent months, but de-
struction and insecurity in
many of the “liberated”
areas has prevented large-
The U.S.-led coalition esti-
mated last year that IS had
lost 40 percent of the ter-
ritory it once held in Iraq,
but the United Nations es-
timates more than 3 million
Iraqis remain internally dis- has been damaged or de-
placed by violence, inse-
of the region’s security
council, told The Associat-
ed Press that many Kurdish
fighters are not being paid.
“I think the international
community should under-
stand that these are, at
the end of the day, human
beings and they all have
families,” he said. “It’s the A Kurdish delegation vis-
responsibility of the entire
world to come to the assis-
tance of the peshmerga to
win this war.”
With oil prices hovering
reclaim the city.
“The level of destruction in
Ramadi is as bad as any-
thing we have seen in Iraq,”
said Lise Grande, the U.N.’s
(AP Photo) deputy special representa-
tive to Iraq. Iraqi and coali-
curity and destruction. tion officials estimate that
Efforts to clear Ramadi rebuilding Ramadi could
of explosives have been cost hundreds of millions of
slowed by a lack of fund- dollars.
ing, Rawi said, explaining Warren, the U.S.-led coali-
that Iraq’s economic cri- tion spokesman, said de-
sis has left the province in spite the gains, the threat of
debt and entirely reliant counterattacks on Ramadi
on international aid dona- remains high. Just 50 kilo-
tions to rebuild. An Initial meters to Ramadi’s east,
assessment of destruction the city of Fallujah remains
in Ramadi carried out by firmly under IS control more
the U.N. last month said than two years after it fell to
more than 4,500 buildings the group. The city is under
siege by Iraqi government
stroyed during the battle to troops, but Iraqi officials say
the northern city of Mosul is
the government’s next pri-
ority.
Iraq announced plans to
send thousands of addi-
tional troops to a base out-
side Mosul on Monday in
anticipation of an opera-
tion to liberate the city.
Ramadi fell to IS in May
2015 in the largest defeat
for Iraq’s military since Mo-
sul fell in 2014. At the height
of the group’s strength,
IS controlled more than a
third of Iraqi territory be-
fore a U.S.-led campaign of
airstrikes began in August
2014.q
around $30 a barrel, the gling to make ends meet,
region is pulling in around for the same reasons.
$450 million a month, less Under existing agreements,
than half what’s needed to the Kurdish region is entitled
cover $1.2 billion in expen- to 17 percent of the na-
ditures. Kurdish officials say tion’s oil income, but Bagh-
they need oil to return to dad stopped payments in
$50 a barrel in order to pay 2014, saying the Kurds were
salaries. illegally exporting oil in pur-
suit of independence.
ited Baghdad last week to Barzani said the largely au-
ask the Iraqi government tonomous region still plans
for aid but no deal was to hold a referendum on
reached. Iraq’s central independence, but did not
government is also strug- provide a timetable.q