MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-RAMADI FIGHTING Sunni tribesmen say they repel attack by Islamic State east of Ramadi

Record ID: 153855

  • Title: MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-RAMADI FIGHTING Sunni tribesmen say they repel attack by Islamic State east of Ramadi
  • Date: 27th May 2015
  • Summary: KHALIDIYA, ANBAR PROVINCE, IRAQ (MAY 26, 2015) (REUTERS) SUNNI TRIBESMEN FROM KHALIDIYA FIRING RIFLES FROM ROOF OF HOUSE VARIOUS OF SUNNI TRIBESMEN FIRING FROM ROOF OF HOUSE SUNNI TRIBESMEN FIRING FROM TOP OF EARTH EMBANKMENT THREE SUNNI TRIBESMEN FIRING FROM TOP OF DIRT MOUND (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED FIGHTER FROM TRIBE OF ANBAR , SAYING: "We repelled a big offens
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA410W5PH7JLV52LEIHTUH42740
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Sunni tribesmen said they repelled an attack by Islamic state (IS) fighters on Tuesday (May 26) east of the city of Ramadi, which was seized by the militant group late last week.
    One tribesman said IS fighters mounted a big offensive on the town of Khalidiya, 25 kilometres east of Ramadi from Jazeerat al-Khalidiya (Khalidiya Island) across the Euphrates River, but it was thwarted and the insurgents were forced to retreat.
    "We repelled a big offensive by Daesh terrorists on Khalidiya and fierce fighting ensued after that, then a dust storm happened and the Daesh terrorists retreated to Jazeerat al-Khalidiya. We confronted them and attacked them with a Katyusha rocket," said a Sunni fighter.
    Khaldiya town is divided into two halves by the Euphrates River with one part under the control of local Sunni tribesmen while Jazeerat al-Khalidiya is controlled by the Islamic State.
    Iraq's Shi'ite militia announced on Tuesday they had taken charge of the campaign to drive Islamic State from the western province of Anbar, giving the operation an openly sectarian codename that could infuriate its Sunni population.
    A spokesman for the Shi'ite militias, known as Hashid Shaabi, said the codename for the new operation would be "Labaik ya Hussein", a slogan in honour of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed killed in the seventh century battle that spawned the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims.
    The militia fighters have performed better on the battlefield than Iraq's own army, but their presence risks alienating the Sunni residents of the area, especially if they emphasize sectarian aims.
    The Iraqi government is scrambling to reverse its biggest military setback in nearly a year, the fall of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province west of Baghdad. Prime Minister Haidar Abadi has vowed to recapture it within days.
    Ramadi's fall a week ago was swiftly followed by the fall of the city of Palmyra in Syria, the two biggest gains by Islamic State fighters since the United States began targeting them with air strikes in both Iraq and Syria last year.
    The simultaneous advances over the past week at opposite ends of the group's territory have raised doubts about the U.S. strategy to bomb the militants from the air but leave fighting on the ground to local Iraqi and Syrian forces.
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