Iraqi forces enter center of IS-held western town
April 08 17:41 2016
By Christina Harvey
FILE- In this Monday In Baghdad the government cabinet is being reshuffled as part of an anti-corruption reform drive on the part of Abadi which has been sped up by pressure exerted by Iraq’s Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who recently staged a sit-in inside the Green Zone to demand an end to government corruption.
His aim is to free Iraqi ministries from the grip of a political class that has used the system of ethnic and sectarian quotas instituted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to amass wealth and influence.
He added that the secretary of state, on his first visit to Iraq since 2014, would discuss US-led support for Baghdad’s efforts to battle the Islamic State jihadist group. The United States, which withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, has redeployed several thousand as part of a coalition it is leading against Islamic State. “We will continue targeting and taking out (IS’s) leaders, and we will train local forces to take and hold more ground”, Kerry told journalists in Baghdad.
Mosul has been dominated by ISIS for almost two years now, and the Iraqi military’s offensive against it stalled with the capture of only three villages, with the military since announcing the operation to be on hold pending the arrival of reinforcements. As well as meeting Abadi, Kerry plans talks with Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and with the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, the State Department said.
Through his visit to Iraq, Kerry seeks to encourage the Iraqis not to lose sight of the important need to keep an eye on fighting against ISIS, by the time they’re dealing with the cabinet reshuffle, stressing on the need “to plan steadily and carefully” to retake Mosul.
Wingate Wire http://wingatewire.com/2016/04/08/iraqi-forces-enter-center-of-is-held-western-town/
April 08 17:41 2016
By Christina Harvey
FILE- In this Monday In Baghdad the government cabinet is being reshuffled as part of an anti-corruption reform drive on the part of Abadi which has been sped up by pressure exerted by Iraq’s Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who recently staged a sit-in inside the Green Zone to demand an end to government corruption.
His aim is to free Iraqi ministries from the grip of a political class that has used the system of ethnic and sectarian quotas instituted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to amass wealth and influence.
He added that the secretary of state, on his first visit to Iraq since 2014, would discuss US-led support for Baghdad’s efforts to battle the Islamic State jihadist group. The United States, which withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, has redeployed several thousand as part of a coalition it is leading against Islamic State. “We will continue targeting and taking out (IS’s) leaders, and we will train local forces to take and hold more ground”, Kerry told journalists in Baghdad.
Mosul has been dominated by ISIS for almost two years now, and the Iraqi military’s offensive against it stalled with the capture of only three villages, with the military since announcing the operation to be on hold pending the arrival of reinforcements. As well as meeting Abadi, Kerry plans talks with Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and with the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, the State Department said.
Through his visit to Iraq, Kerry seeks to encourage the Iraqis not to lose sight of the important need to keep an eye on fighting against ISIS, by the time they’re dealing with the cabinet reshuffle, stressing on the need “to plan steadily and carefully” to retake Mosul.
Wingate Wire http://wingatewire.com/2016/04/08/iraqi-forces-enter-center-of-is-held-western-town/
