Iraqis frustrated by government's inability to free Anbar

Iraqi’s have expressed their frustrations at the inability of the country’s security services to battle the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Anbar province and stop their rapid expansion.

Member of the Anbar Provincial Council Farhan Muhammad said: “The Iraqi security forces’ plans in the province do not rise to the occasion,” noting that ISIS has been able to fortify itself and open supply routes with Syria to “sustain the momentum of the battle”.

“The Iraqi security forces’ operations against ISIS are too fragile compared to the militant group’s strength in the province,” Muhammad said, adding: “The security situation in Anbar has become very serious and the government must find a solution quickly and develop plans that commensurate with the magnitude of the risk.”

Meanwhile, a local leader in one of the province’s clans, Ammar Al-Issawi, criticised what he described as the “chaos that characterises the Iraqi security agencies’ plans in Anbar and the multiplicity of leaders,” explaining that “the battles that take place in the province reflect great confusion in government planning, through attempts to engage in fights that do not have value.”