Iraqis 'Up Against The Wall' As ISIS Threatens Province Near Baghdad [Obama's JV Team?]
CNN ^ | October 10, 2014 | Jim Sciutto and Greg Botelho
Posted on October 10, 2014 9:51:14 PM EDT by Steelfish
Iraqis 'Up Against The Wall' As ISIS Threatens Province Near Baghdad By Jim Sciutto and Greg Botelho, CNN October 10, 2014
(CNN) -- A key province near Iraq's capital is in trouble amid an onslaught from ISIS forces, the U.S. defense secretary said Friday, signaling the Islamist extremist group is continuing to flex its muscles and expand its territory -- on several fronts -- despite international airstrikes.
Speaking to reporters during his travels in South America, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen with Anbar province, which is just west of Baghdad.
These comments are in alignment with those of a senior U.S. defense official who told CNN that Iraqi forces are "up against the wall" in Anbar. Some units are in danger of being cut off by the advancing militants, who call themselves members of the Islamic State.
The Iraqis' ultimate goal is to take back some of the vast areas, in both Iraq and Syria, that ISIS controls. But right now, Iraqi forces appear to be mostly trying to survive -- taking defensive positions and using Apache helicopters again, even after two were shot down in the area this week, according to the U.S. official.
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