It was 18 months ago that the dark forces of Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) swept aside weak Iraqi opposition and took over the important central city of Ramadi. The collapse opened the door for the terrorists to advance to Baghdad. Thankfully, the extremists were turned back before that happened, and for the past year and a half, Daesh has had full reign in Ramadi to implement its twisted version of Islam on the local population who remained. For the past six months Iraqi troops, assisted by militias and backed by air strikes, have been trying to wrest back control of the city. It’s been a long and bloody battle, one in which every house, every alley and every city block were bitterly contested. The defeat of Daesh there marks the first significant victory by the Iraqi forces, largely trained by US advisers. When Daesh advanced 18 months ago, Iraqi forces abandoned their posts, equipment and vehicles with alarming speed, giving the extremists a boost and adding US-supplied weaponry to their arsenal of offensive weapons.
But Ramadi is just the first target for the Iraqi coalition forces. Next up is Mosul, some 400 kilometres to the north, and a much more difficult objective. Daesh, despite not having any air power and being vulnerable to air strikes, has proven to be a stubborn enemy, fighting for every inch of ground it holds in its self-declared caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria. After the battle for Ramadi, victory in the battles ahead will be equally difficult.
