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[sphagnum]

Iraq's army said on Sunday it had defeated Islamic State fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad, the first major victory for the U.S.-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago.

Victory in Ramadi, capital of mainly Sunni-Muslim Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of the capital, deprives Islamic State militants of their biggest prize of 2015. The fighters captured it in May after government troops fled in a defeat which prompted Washington to take a hard look at strategy against the militants.

After encircling the city for weeks, the Iraqi military launched a campaign to retake it last week, and made a final push to seize the central administration complex on Sunday.

"By controlling the complex this means that we have defeated them in Ramadi," said Sabah al-Numani, a spokesman for the force leading the fight on the government side. "The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."

State television broadcast footage of troops, Humvee vehicles and tanks advancing through Ramadi streets amid piles of rubble and collapsed houses. Some districts appeared to have been completely destroyed by the advance.

Television also showed nighttime celebrations in mainly Shi'ite cities south of Baghdad, for the victory in Anbar, with people dancing in the streets and waving Iraqi flags from cars.

Officials did not give any immediate death tolls for the battle. The government says most civilian residents of the city were able to evacuate before it launched its assault.

...

A U.S.-led coalition has been waging an air campaign against the fighters in both countries, but rebuilding the Iraqi army to the point that it was capable of recapturing and holding territory has been one of the biggest challenges.

In previous battles, including the recapture of former dictator Saddam Hussein's home city Tirkit in April, the Iraqi government relied on Iran-backed Shi'ite militias for ground fighting, with its own army in a supporting role.

Ramadi was recaptured by the army itself, without relying on the militias, who were kept off the battlefield to avoid sectarian tensions with the mainly Sunni population.

"The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of Daesh fighters in the complex," Numani told Reuters.

The government said the next target after Ramadi will be the northern city of Mosul, by far the largest population center controlled by Islamic State in either Iraq or Syria.

...

Dislodging the militants from Mosul, which had a pre-war population close to 2 million, would effectively abolish their state structure in Iraq and deprive them of a major source of funding, which comes partly from oil and partly from fees and taxes on residents.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...islamic-state-in-ramadi/ar-BBnXkla?li=BBnb7Kz

Finally some good news for once.

 

[Jumeira]

Great news, Fuck ISIS

 

[justjohn]

Fantastic. Been a shitty year but looks like we're ending it with some good news. Let's hope it's carries on into 2016.

 

[Mii]

About time, but I would expect insurgency in Ramadi next.

 

[Jack Remington]

Hopefully this will shut up the (kind of idiotic) pundits who complain about Obama fiddling while the world burns and not having a strategy or whatever.

 

[Zaventem]

This is awesome news. What posses people to join these terrorist groups in the first place.

 

[Ovid]

Nice!!!

Next up: Mosul

That will be a tougher fight though

 

[andycapps]

Kudos to the Iraqi army. Good news.

 

[DudeWithNoName]

I hope to see the day where defeated ISIS members are hunted down and punished for their crimes.

 

[Carl2291]

Good.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Should be great for the region, but it will not hugely alter the aims of those than want to cause chaos and destruction in other parts of the world under their name.

 

[davepoobond]

i'm hopeful this is a sign that ISIS is weakening, but also that the Iraqi army is strengthening.

 

[SRG01]

Yes, the training is starting to pay dividends

 

[Pristine_Condition]

Hopefully this will shut up the (kind of idiotic) pundits who complain about Obama fiddling while the world burns and not having a strategy or whatever.

Well, in fairness, Obama kinda brought that on himself:

"I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet." - President Obama - Aug. 28, 2014

"We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis," - President Obama - June 8, 2015

...and the people who were saying it weren't just pundits. Or political opponents.

“They’ve got to put a strategy on the table that deals with the ISIL third of the problem, with the Assad third of the problem, and with the massive humanitarian disaster third of the problem. And they’re just not doing that.” - Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tim Kaine, Democrat - VA - Nov 4, 2015

 

[Ovid]

Hopefully this will shut up the (kind of idiotic) pundits who complain about Obama fiddling while the world burns and not having a strategy or whatever.

It won't.

They have been saying "It's about time he started doing something".

I'm not kidding.

 

[LiK]

great news. i hope ISIS doesn't recapture it in a few months.

 

[Ovid]

Yes, the training is starting to pay dividends

We were training them for years and the Iraqi Army still hightailed it out of some of those cities when the fighting got too hot.

This is a good victory and great for morale though. Let's hope for more good news in the near future.

 

[Speely]

Great news at long last! Hopefully this establishes some momentum and is only the beginning.

 

[Starsailor]

this is really good

 

[andycapps]

Yes, the training is starting to pay dividends

I almost said that but I didn't want to jinx things. Cautiously optimistic but I'm expecting setbacks. Their military still has a long way to go to be competent.

 

[Frankfurter]

Finally, good work!

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Still won't stop someone who supports them on twitter from buying a gun or plotting some other act of violence. If anything, it makes them more likely to lash out.

 

[MonsterHunter]

Good news along with the Kurds and SDF taking a strategic dam in Syria, pushing out IS and allowing them to cross the Euphrates out of Turkish artillery range. Really, fuck Erdogan and any Turk who voted for him.

 

[everyday math]

Keep up the pressure guys! Good work. Get fucked assholes.

 

[andycapps]

Still won't stop someone who supports them on twitter from buying a gun or plotting some other act of violence. If anything, it makes them more likely to lash out.

What's your point? Stop trying to fight ISIS then?

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

What's your point? Stop trying to fight ISIS then?

No point, just stating a fact.

 

[Abinash117]

I think there was a reason why the Shiite militias didn't partake in the battle. Looks like the US wanted to show that Iraq doesn't need them and I heard that the forces that took Ramadi was recently US trained forces.

 

[mmazurkiewicz]

No point, just stating a fact.

and how does your statement of fact relate to the topic?

 

[Jack Remington]

Good news along with the Kurds and SDF taking a strategic dam in Syria, pushing out IS and allowing them to cross the Euphrates out of Turkish artillery range. Really, fuck Erdogan and any Turk who voted for him.

I think at this point the Kurds have thoroughly earned the U.S. telling Turkey to fuck off and supporting an independent Kurdish state.

After all this mess with ISIL is cleaned up, are we really going to force the Kurds back into a failed Iraqi state?

 

[Fried Food]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

 

[Madness]

great news. i hope ISIS doesn't recapture it in a few months.

They won't be able to. ISIS grew out of the vacuum of Sunni anger against being displaced in all facets of the country by the new Shia government. Coupled with the pullout of US ground troops in Iraq and the civil war in Syria, they were able to capture and hold large swathes of the land between these two nations. Using that as a springboard to regroup, train and house fighters. They seized oil refineries, looted government buildings and ammo supplies.

They got so powerful they were on the march to Baghdad. But their sheer villainy against other minorities, the beheadings of journalists and aid workers, raping and pillaging and killing galvanized the world against them. All of a sudden, the US is saying they will degrade and destroy ISIS and begin airstrikes. Arming the Kurds, providing greater arms to Iraqi forces. Other countries have joined in and now Russia is completely bombing the rebels/ISIS in Syria.

There is no hope for the so-called Islamic State. They are on the verge of utter defeat. The land they captured is being retaken, their fighters and convoys are being bombed, they are going to be hunted down and killed.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

This is really morbid.

 

[antonz]

"rebuilding" the army. maybe if the motherfuckers didn't surrender and run off leaving tanks, humvees etc. for ISIS we wouldn't have had to rebuild them.

Iraq should have no fucking say in what happens to deal with ISIS. They are the shitheads who alienated countless people into the hands of ISIS by expelling them from the Military, government etc all so the government could have their flavor of Islam only Government and Military.

 

[Palculator]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

:|

 

[TheLaughingStock]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

There may be a unified command for the Iraqi army like CENTCOM that mostly prohibits it. But why on Earth would you want to pay to see some sick, boring, or embarrassing shit out on a battlefield in 2015?

 

[Visualante2]

The reports made it sound like a real difficult task. Snipers and suicide bombers among scared civilians. Glad they got it done even if it took a while.

 

[vityaz]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

Well at least you can satisfy your bloodthirst with regular videos of assaults, as they're being uploaded all the time.

 

[Joezie]

Great news for the Iraqis. Well deserved victory.

 

[jstripes]

I hope to see the day where defeated ISIS members are hunted down and punished for their crimes.

Isn't that the kind of thinking that led to ISIS in the first place? Didn't they make it a mission to hunt down Iraqi Army personnel?

 

[Stinkles]

Good. If the Iraqi army can keep its shitshow together and eliminate some of the top down corruption then this is the best scenario.

 

[orochi91]

I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[Darkangel]

Excellent work.

Hope this means the Iraqi Army has become an effective fighting force.

 

[Anion]

Maliki really screwed this country over. Glad to see its coming back together.

 

[Stinkles]

Maliki really screwed this country over. Glad to see its coming back together.

Maliki was just a symptom of sectarianism. Only people can overcome that. Northern Ireland shows that with communication and effort and education, even the most bitter divisions can be bridged.

 

[Stealthy Giant]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

 

[dabig2]

"rebuilding" the army. maybe if the motherfuckers didn't surrender and run off leaving tanks, humvees etc. for ISIS we wouldn't have had to rebuild them.

Iraq should have no fucking say in what happens to deal with ISIS. They are the shitheads who alienated countless people into the hands of ISIS by expelling them from the Military, government etc all so the government could have their flavor of Islam only Government and Military.

If you're talking about the dumb de-baathification then it's only fair that the US shares the blame here. Actually, like 99% of the blame goes to the US since it was the brainchild of the CIA and DoD. You should be cursing out Bremer, Wolfowitz and the rest of those fucking idiots.

Maliki and Chalibi were dumbasses too, but in those immediate post-invasion years it was the US running the show.

 

[davepoobond]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

 

[wildfire]

Nice job. I hope they're successful in retaking Mosul.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

For clarity, I believe that this is the ISF retaking the old government compound and the area around it in the city centre. As far as I know, IS still control part of the city.

If you're talking about the dumb de-baathification then it's only fair that the US shares the blame here. Actually, like 99% of the blame goes to the US since it was the brainchild of the CIA and DoD. You should be cursing out Bremer, Wolfowitz and the rest of those fucking idiots.

Maliki and Chalibi were dumbasses too, but in those immediate post-invasion years it was the US running the show.

I believe he's talking chiefly about the last 4-5 years.

 

[Lev]

I'd pay to watch a livestream of these assaults. Why aren't there any streams of these battles. It's 2015 yall.

I laughed when I read this. I have to admit that.

Now that I got that out of the way, my number one guess on why there isn't such a thing is because no good would come of it for the Iraqi security forces. The people who would benefit the most from that footage would be the enemy, since they could use the footage to learn about the tactical techniques and strategies employed by the Iraqi security forces. That's the same reason why we shouldn't see helmet cams of SWAT officers during a house raid, but sadly there's even footage of that.

If you want to see some war footage, go to liveleak.com. There's plenty of that footage over there for you to get your lust for blood quenched. smh