Iraqi forces are prepared to begin a push into Ramadi months after it fell into the control of the Islamic State, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday.
Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Iraqi ground forces are encircling almost the entire city and have advanced about 15 kilometers, or about nine miles, in the last week.
“We now believe battlefield conditions are set for Iraqi forces to push into the city,” he told reporters at the Pentagon via video teleconference from Baghdad.
To put it another way: If Ramadi was Washington, Iraqi forces would be in the outer suburbs, or near Falls Church, pushing their way to Arlington, Warren said.
The Iraqi ground forces have been aided by 52 U.S. strikes in the region over the past 10 days, as well as air support from Iraqi F-16s.
While acknowledging that it will be a tough fight because of the urban terrain and the many months Islamic State fighters have had to hunker down and booby trap the city, Warren said he believes the Iraqi forces can retake the city aided by U.S. training, intelligence and airpower.
Between 600-1,000 Islamic State extremists are in Ramadi, Warren said.
When Islamic State terrorists took control of the city in May, Iraqi officials said the government would reclaim the city within a matter of days.
Instead, Iraqi forces began months of “shaping operations” that led some to declare the fight stalled.
Warren said the slowed fight was due to environmental factors, including a very hot summer, and religious holidays that stopped fighting. He also previously said the Islamic State was using a more traditional style of war than the counterinsurgency fight of the past decade, meaning Iraqi soldiers were unprepared for the shift in battle tactics.
