ISIL Now in 'Defensive Crouch' in Iraq, Syria

Controlling Ramadi

After a fight for control of Ramadi, which ISIL captured in May, the Iraqi army took back the city’s government complex on Dec. 27, incurring around 1,000 casualties and 100 deaths, Warren said.

Last week, Warren told the Pentagon press corps that skirmishes continued in the city with small groups of enemy forces -- from five fighters to perhaps a dozen -- centered around a machine gun or several rocket-propelled grenades.

“We see these squad-sized elements still able to operate in some of the neighborhoods that have not yet been cleared,” he said today, “and we still see that.”

More than 60 ISIL fighters were killed inside Ramadi in the past 24 hours, Warren noted.

“Counterterrorism Service forces continue clearing eastward into the core of the inner city,” the colonel said. “They've encountered enemy contact consisting of [bombs], machine gun fire, [rocket-propelled grenades] and sniper fire. Coalition airstrikes continued to enable their advance.”

Decisive Battle

Warren said ISIL’s defensive techniques include using tunnels and holes in the walls between buildings as cover and for attacks.

“This is why the Iraqi security forces have to be very deliberate, very methodical and very carefully move through these neighborhoods to clear them,” he added.

ISIL can still strike in spots and conduct raids, ambushes and [bomb] attacks and they still hold large swaths of territory, Warren said.

“But the Iraqi security forces are now on the offensive,” he said. “The Iraqi security forces will pick where the next significant battle is [and] ISIL is now reacting to the Iraqi security forces.”

In response to a question about the rules of engagement against the terrorist army in Iraq and Syria, Warren said, “If you're part of ISIL we will kill you. That's our rule.”

(Source: US Dept of Defense)