Posted on 01/02/2014 10:16:28 PM PST by Brad from Tennessee
Over the past several days, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, has taken control of large sections of two western Iraqi cities that were once bastions for the terror group.
ISIS fighters entered the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, after the Iraqi military withdrew from them following clashes with tribes over a political standoff that resulted in the arrest of a Sunni member of parliament.
The ISIS has posted videos of its fighters entering the cities in force after clashing with Iraqi police and overrunning several checkpoints. In the videos, a large convoy of ISIS fighters driving technicals, or pickup trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on the back, is seen moving through Ramadi. The fighters are flying al Qaeda's black banner while singing praises to al Qaeda and its "Islamic state." [See more videos here.]
Officials from the Iraqi Interior Ministry acknowledged that parts of Fallujah and Ramadi are under al Qaeda control.
"Half of Fallujah is in the hands of ISIS (the Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham) group," an anonymous interior ministry official told AFP.
"In Ramadi, it is similar - some areas are controlled by ISIS," the official continued. The other parts of the city are controlled by "tribesmen," likely a reference to the Sahwa ("the Awakening"), the tribal militia that with US backing ejected al Qaeda from control of large areas of Anbar between 2006 and 2009.
In Fallujah, ISIS fighters stormed the main police headquarters, freed more than 100 prisoners, and seized weapons and ammunition. "Other police stations in the city were torched by fighters as most police abandoned their posts," Al Jazeera reported. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
Part of Barry’s legacy
Ping.
.
Nothing to see here...... Barry is on vacation...
Your children nobly gave a good part of their lives serving their country. In the future our political leaders must learn to never take such service for granted or squander such sacrifices. It will be, as it always has been, up to the Iraqis themselves to work out some sort of a consensus and to build for themselves the country they want. When they threaten or do us harm, then more sacrifices will be necessary.
Ditto.
Territory won with American blood.
AQ = Sunni.
“Al Qaeda is on the run... and... ummm... where’s my teleprompter?”
2014 and Al Qaeda still exists, fail.
Should have flattened them when we had the chance.
Of interest.
I'm very much bothered Americans died there to secure those cities, and now they are simply back in the hands of the enemy.
Wait until the last U.S. helo lifts out of Kabul.
The Taliban will be chopping heads on the soccer field the following day.
“Al Qaeda has been decimated!” - Barack The Liar
I agree with you completely and quite seriously.
The NYT will report what he really said was “AlQ is on the heal.”
Bush’s fault!
Seaplaner, your kids ate the same dirt I did.
Ramadi was MY town. It was Dodge City until the surge. But no, we had to give it back.
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