Islamic State forces are setting up defenses in Ramadi in advance of an expected counterattack from Iraqi Security Forces and the Shiite militias, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The Defense Department said Iraqi forces have made no major tactical advances since Baghdad announced the launch of operations to retake Ramadi Tuesday. The force is, however, conducting initial scoping operations for the larger battle.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said two airstrikes impacted land features and destroyed an armored personnel carrier used by ISIS.
Iraqi Security Forces fled Ramadi more than a week ago after a sophisticated attack involving a series of massive car bombs. The Iraqi forces have been criticized for retreating when it appears their troop levels outnumbered the Islamic State group’s.
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Since them, Iraqi forces and thousands of Shiite militias have regrouped at a military base in Habbaniyah, a city about 20 miles to east of Ramadi. Those forces began initial operations to retake Ramadi and the largely Islamic State-controlled Anbar province Tuesday.
Since the Islamic State took the city it has worked to fortify its defenses and supply its forces.
“We see [Islamic State] fighters preparing for a defense. So they are constructing berms and planting [roadside bombs],” Warren said.
The terror group can still resupply itself from western routes that reach back to Syria. The group is “attempting to flow supplies and equipment into Ramadi” from that approach, Warren said. “We of course are interdicting that with airpower.”
