Abadi: ISIS remains fierce adversary in Iraq

Iraq’s prime minister said on Wednesday that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group remains a fierce adversary as he outlined plans during a trip to Washington to prioritize battles in the refinery city of Baiji and Anbar province, where the militants are striking back.

Haidar al-Abadi, speaking to reporters a day after meeting U.S. President Barack Obama, portrayed a mixed picture of a weakening ISIS eight months after U.S.-led air strikes against the group began in Iraq.

The United States estimates ISIS has lost about a quarter of the populated areas it seized in Iraq. Abadi himself recently declared a major victory by taking back the city of Tikrit.

Asked whether ISIS’ defeat was in sight as major campaign milestones approach, Abadi was measured, saying the group was on that path, but still showed some resilience and was proving “very mobile.”

“They (are) ideologized ... and their backs are against a wall. So they are putting (up) very fierce fighting,” he said.

Iraqi authorities believe ISIS recruitment among foreigners, as a percentage of the entire force, has increased dramatically in recent months, in what Abadi said may be a sign that recruitment among Iraqis was thinning.

He said some fighters, presumably of Chechen origin, were heard speaking Russian in intercepted communications.

ISIS forces gained some ground in western Iraq on Wednesday, overrunning several villages on the edge of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

Abadi announced this month a new Anbar campaign, which was intended to build upon the victory in Tikrit. He also told reporters in Washington that Baiji was a priority.

“We are going at the same time - Baiji and al Anbar,” he said.

The hardline Islamists have struck back in Anbar in the Sunni heartland as well as Baiji, where they blasted through the security perimeter around Iraq’s largest refinery several days ago.

Asked about his efforts to arm Sunni tribal forces in Anbar, Abadi said about 5,000 Sunni fighters now had weapons, adding they wanted more advanced weaponry, like heavy machine guns, but
Baghdad had none to spare.

Abadi also acknowledged that the major battle to wrest back control of Mosul, Iraq’s second city, was still months away and would not happen until after Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, which ends in mid-July.

A U.S. military official said recently the extreme summer heat after Ramadan made any effort to retake Mosul before the fall unlikely.