As Iraqi forces launched a counteroffensive to retake Ramadi on Tuesday, U.S. advisers have told the force how best to approach the attack and have targeted airstrikes to help set the stage for the fight, the Pentagon said.
Thousands of Shia militias and Iraqi security forces recently driven from Ramadi have reset at a military base in Habbaniyah, a city about 20 miles to the east of the fallen provincial capital.
On Tuesday, those forces began the first phase of what is expected to be a longer battle to retake not only Ramadi, but also regain control of Anbar province, the Pentagon said.
“This is going to be a multi-year fight,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said. Iraqi forces “are not just going to flip the switch today – this is going to be a years’ long fight that is going to require focus and is going to require patience.”
Warren described the initial movements as shaping operations, such as targeted airstrikes and ground operations to defend or remove key supply and communications routes. Iraqi forces and Islamic State fighters are sending small numbers of forces to probe each others’ positions and troop levels in the 20-mile zone that separates Ramadi from Habbaniyah, Warren said.
The U.S. is also running intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to provide additional visibility, Warren said.
Despite the long-term outlook, the U.S. has also rushed weapons and provided advice on reconstituting the Iraqi forces.
“Every day the enemy has in Ramadi is another day for the enemy to harden and to develop their defenses,” Warren said.
Criticism snowballed in the U.S. this week over the defeat at Ramadi and the Iraqi security forces’ apparent abandonment of millions of dollars worth of U.S.-provided equipment. Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned Iraqis’ willingness to fight on Sunday.
The Pentagon said it conducted airstrikes against Islamic State fighting positions in al-Baghdadi and Hit. The cities are on the same supply route and are north and west of Ramadi, toward Syria. It also conducted airstrikes on Fallujah, which is on the same route, but south and east of Ramadi, toward Baghdad.
Last week, the Pentagon also announced the rushed shipment of more than 2,000 anti-tank, shoulder-fired rockets to Baghdad. The weapons are expected to arrive this week but are not in Baghdad yet, Warren said.
