Defence secretary: US ready to do more to help retake Ramadi

As Iraqi forces close in on the western city of Ramadi, thousands of civilians are effectively being held hostage inside by Islamic State militants who want to use them as human shields.

Five Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of supporting ISIS, obtaining rifles and practicing shooting, according to Israeli officials. Iraqi troops also managed to confiscate a large amount of weaponry.

IS took Ramadi seven months ago.

In addition to its strategic significance, Ramadi, located 75 miles west of Baghdad in the Sunni heartland, has symbolic importance in Iraq’s fight against ISIS.

John McCain and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at Wednesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing revealed that a member of the president’s own cabinet disagrees with his assumption that ISIS is “contained”.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed to retake the city within days, but the counter-offensive was delayed until Iraqi forces regrouped.

“And just this past week, I personally reached out to my counterparts in 40 countries to ask them to contribute and, in many cases, contribute much more to enhancing the fight against ISIL”.

Republican Senators on the panel challenged USA policy.

Asked whether New Zealand was likely to step up its commitment, he replied: “I think it is unlikely”.

Noting that the defence of the homeland must be strengthened, Carter said to be sure, but it is absolutely necessary to defeat ISIS in its parent tumor in Syria and Iraq and also to take necessary action wherever else in the world this evil organization metastasizes.

Carter’s remarks were the latest sign of US preparations to intensify its military campaign against the group, which controls wide swaths of Iraq and Syria and has orchestrated and inspired attacks overseas. The Iraqi military and its Shiite militia allies surrounded Ramadi and have largely cut Daesh off from resupply of arms and ammunition.

But leaving isn’t necessarily easy.

Now that victory is within sight, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is offering US helicopter gunships to finish Daesh off in Ramadi. “And you know what they will do to an apostate”, said one resident, referring to ISIS’ practice of detaining and killing those who don’t accept its extreme ideology.

“They’re doing a fantastic job and have so far trained more than 3000 people”, Mr Key said.

“Russia’s air strikes are still overwhelmingly directed at coalition-supported groups and more talks in Vienna will not convince Vladimir Putin to abandon his idea of Russia’s national interests in Syria”, McCain said. “The government is not proving us any guarantees that we will be safe during our trip south”.

Carter said Congress will have to help. “So in the end, while we can enable them, we cannot substitute for them”, Carter said. He described ISIL-held territory in Mosul (Iraq) and Raqqah (Syria) as the “parent tumor”.

“The reality is, we’re at war”, said Carter.

A teenager and another man were arrested in Sydney following a counterterrorism operation and have been charged with “conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act”, Federal Police said.

“Americans have never been more anxious about being attacked than at any time since the months that followed September 11, 2001”. They prevent us from leaving houses.

“In Iraq, we have about 3,500 troops at six locations in support of Iraqi Security Forces, or ISF”, notes Carter in his opening statement.

Pentagon officials attributed the recent Iraqi successes in Ramadi to new equipment provided by the United States and a shift in training to emphasize combat engineering rather than counterinsurgency.