Local Iraqi forces testing IS defenses in Anbar
US-trained, local tribal fighters are preparing to cleanse Iraq's Anbar province of the Islamic State.
SAGRA (WESTERN ANBAR), Iraq — Former teachers, policemen, tradesmen and others from tribal areas still under Islamic State (IS) control are receiving training close to the front line in Iraq's westernmost region.
They will be essential to the fight against IS in this area and are providing critical intelligence on the areas to be retaken, noted Col. Ali Fendi, the commander of the Iraqi army's 1st brigade, 7th division, who has been in charge of this front since January.
The forces are currently conducting lightning ops close to nearby IS-held cities "to see what their reactions are and to draw fighters out of their hiding places" before pulling back, said the head of one of the local forces, Col. Moussa Hamad al-Karbouly. Afterward, "international coalition airstrikes hit and gradually eliminate ever more fighters. … IS is on the defensive and is getting ever weaker."
On Aug. 21, jets dropped thousands of leaflets on the western Anbar towns of al-Qaim, Ana and Rawa, which are still under IS control. The leaflets reportedly give information on Iraqi forces' latest gains and call on IS to surrender.
