Are US and Iran-Backed Militias Getting Friendlier?

However that situation has changed and was especially impacted by the fall of the city of Ramadi, one of the biggest cities in the province of Anbar. Here the Iraqi army and security forces failed once again – after months defending the city, soldiers left the city undefended and as yet, nobody is completely sure why they went.

The fall of Ramadi has meant that the extremist IS group are a lot closer to Baghdad than they were before. Even though it seems highly unlikely they would be able to attack this area, the extremists are also a lot closer to the large military base, Camp Taji, where most of the foreign soldiers, including US army personnel, are based.

After the fall of Ramadi, it became clear that the Shiite Muslim militias – unofficial or not, welcomed by Sunni locals or not – are just about the only force capable of halting the IS group. One US media report described them as a “necessary evil”.

The Shiite Muslim militias have started a new campaign in Anbar province, even though the province is mostly populated by Sunni Muslims. The militias are the only “boots on the ground” apart from the Iraqi army and they called for all volunteers to be on full alert for an ongoing campaign in Anbar.