Iraq allies vow support for plan to regain ground from ISIL

Iraqi mourners attend the funeral of security forces who were killed in a suicide attack on an Iraqi police base north of Baghdad on June 2, 2015. The attack in the holy Shiite city of Najaf in southeShow more

Paris // The international coalition against ISIL on Tuesday pledged support for Iraq’s plan to retake the city of Ramadi from the extremists, whose advance Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi described as a “failure” for the global community.

The US-led coalition, which has been carrying out airstrikes against ISIL, also called for the “speedy launch” of efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, saying this was crucial to tackle the group rampaging through Syria and Iraq.

Despite a series of battlefield wins by ISIL, the coalition maintained it had a “winning strategy” and gave its approval to Iraqi plans to claw back territory at crunch strategy talks in Paris.

The US deputy secretary of state Anthony Blinken, standing in for the hospitalised John Kerry, hailed Baghdad’s strategy as “the right plan both politically and militarily for Iraq at this time”.

He insisted the coalition had made “real gains” and said the ISIL now had 25 per cent less territory than when the air strikes began in August.

Baghdad has been fighting to wrest back Ramadi, the capital Anbar province, since its shock loss to ISIL last month – the worst defeat for the coalition since it formed nearly a year ago.

Under the emergency plan adopted by Mr Al Abadi’s cabinet, Iraqis will mobilise and arm the Sunni tribes of Anbar – which they have previously been loath to do out of fears they could turn on the Shiite-led government.

Mr Abadi also plans to ensure all Sunni and Shiite militias are operating under Baghdad’s authority, to avoid stoking ancient sectarian tensions.

The loss of Ramadi as well as the historic Syrian city of Palmyra days later raised questions about the effectiveness of the coalition’s strategy.

But Mr Blinken insisted: “In Iraq right now we have the right strategy, a combination of air strikes, training and effective global partners.”

None of Iraq’s allies are willing to send troops into battle.

The rout of Iraqi security forces in Ramadi also led to a diplomatic spat as US Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said there was “an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight”, in comments that deeply angered Baghdad and forced Washington to apologise.

Mr Al Abadi himself urged more from his partners, saying most ISIL fighters were foreign and therefore an “international problem”.

“There is a lot of talk of support for Iraq, there is very little on the ground,” he told reporters before the Paris meeting.

He said that until recently, around six out of 10 fighters were Iraqi and the remainder foreign, whereas the proportion was now reversed.

His criticism came as ISIL claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Iraqi police base north of Baghdad on Monday that killed at least 37 people, mostly officers.

Mr Abadi warned that the extremist group’s onslaught in his country was not just an issue for Iraq.

“There is a lack of intelligence, we are trying very hard on our part but this is a transnational organisation ... This is a failure on the part of the world.”

And while the focus of the Paris meeting was the crisis in Iraq, the ministers also talked about neighbouring Syria where IS is wreaking havoc.

They said that with the “continued deterioration of the situation in Syria and the inability and unwillingness” of Bashar Al Assad’s regime to fight ISIL, it was urgent to find a political solution in Damascus.

In a joint statement, the 20 or so coalition representatives called for the “speedy launch of a UN-facilitated, genuine and inclusive political process” in Syria.

Aside from diplomatic support, Mr Al Abadi said Baghdad was in need of weapons and ammunition to battle ISIL, adding that most of his country’s weapons contracts were with Russia or Iran, which are both under western sanctions.

“We are not asking for arms, but please let us purchase arms easily,” he pleaded.

* Agence France-Presse