On Tuesday, Iraq military forces and Shiite militia announced their operations to take back Anbar and Salaheddin provinces from the Islamic State. The announcement comes about a week after the fall of Ramadi to ISIS.
According to Iraq state television, both the Shiite and Sunni groups have militia that are assisting the Iraq military in regaining territory from the Islamic State. Heavy involvement from the Shiite military brings worries, however, because of heightened tensions between the Sunni and Shiite sects.
"We announce the beginning of the military operation to liberate Anbar. This operation will end the hit-and-run operations by (Islamic State) militants. The next coming days will witness an intensifying of the siege on Ramadi," said Ahmad al-Assadi of the Iraqi Shiite militia called Popular Mobilization Forces. One Shiite militia announced that they arrested hundreds of Islamic State militants in Anbar.
The objective of the operations in Salaheddin province involves stopping ISIS from using their supply route, which feeds into Anbar province. Iraqi forces also hope to take back Baiji city and an oil refinery, which the Islamic State has used to gain monetary support for their group.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi vowed to retake the city of Ramadi, which is considered one of Iraq's biggest military losses this year. According to al-Abadi, thousands of troops were deployed to the south of the city and are beginning to take the outskirts of the city.
According to Iraqi military officials, the operation in Anbar will focus on capturing the edges of Ramadi first and cutting of supply routes. The Prime Minister stated that the city of Ramadi will be recaptured very soon.
Over the weekend, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter criticized the Iraqi defense forces, claiming that they "showed no will to fight" when the ISIS militants first overtook the city of Ramadi last week.
"What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight," Carter told CNN.
The White House issued a statement of Vice President Joe Biden's phone call with al-Abadi over the weekend, which commended the Iraqi forces for their effort against ISIS. Biden "recognized the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces over the past eighteen months in Ramadi and elsewhere."
