Islamic State fighters kill 20 soldiers in Ramadi assault

Islamic State (IS) militants killed at least 20 Iraqi soldiers following a major assault on Ramadi, capital of the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Iraqi security officials said.

“Clashes are ongoing around the city. A series of mortar attacks have targeted areas inside the city, including provincial council buildings and a police post,” an Iraqi security official told the AFP news agency,

Ambar counsellor Adhal al-Fahdawi said on Friday that government forces had surrounded IS fighters who had captured part of the eastern Anbar province of Mundhiq. However, he called for enhanced support from the Iraqi air force and the US-led-air campaign that was launched in August.

“The security forces need support because we have not received any back-up from the army’s air force or the coalition,” al-Fahdawi said.   

Parts of Anbar have been out of the central Iraqi government’s hands since January. In June, the self-declared Islamic State launched a full-scale assault on Iraq following earlier successes in neighbouring Syria. It now controls large parts of both countries, including most of Anbar, a province that borders Baghdad as well as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Only a few areas of Anbar now remain under the control of the Baghdadi government, who are being backed by both Shia and Sunni armed groups.

Meanwhile, US vice-president Joe Biden met Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutogulu on Friday to discuss Turkey’s role in the crisis in Syria and Iraq. He will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday. Erdogan has insisted that Turkey will only help if the plans include the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His calls for a no-fly zone over Syria have not won U.S. support.