ANBAR, Iraq
About 3,000 Shia militants tasked to fight Daesh and retake the city of Ramadi in Iraq's Anbar province arrived in the region, officials said Monday.
A statement issued by Anbar's provincial council said the fighters were waiting at the Habbania military base about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Ramadi.
“These forces, equipped with immense arms and ammunition, will fight alongside security and tribal forces to retake the city”, the statement said.
The mobilization forces were composed of volunteers from the Badr Brigades, Hezbollah, Asaib al-Haq and some other groups, Jasim Mohamed, a Badr Brigades commander, told Anadolu Agency.
The Shai forces' arrival in the city came after Iraqi Prime Ministe Haidar al-Abadi called on them to join Iraqi forces and Sunni tribal fighters to stop the advance of Daesh.
On Sunday, Daesh took control of Ramadi after overrunning Iraqi forces in the area and are now in full control after local police and Iraqi army forces withdrew from the city.
In Washington, the Pentagon said Daesh “now has the advantage” in Ramadi, but stressed that, if fallen, its capture does not mean the campaign has turned in the extremists’ favor.
“The loss of Ramadi does not mean the tide of the campaign has turned, and we have long said that there would be ebbs and flows on the battlefield”, said spokeswoman Elissa Smith. “If lost, that just means the coalition will have to support Iraqi forces to take it back later”.
The U.S. has carried out more than 35 airstrikes since the beginning of May in Ramadi, including nine in the last day, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters.
He stressed that while Daesh's capture of Ramadi may be a "setback", the group has overall lost roughly 25 percent of the territory it once controlled.
"We see them overall losing control of territory. We see increased unity and solidarity in fighting back against them. We see increased international support", he said. "That doesn't diminish the setback in Ramadi, but we are confident that our efforts in conjunction with the Iraqi leadership and with Iraqi forces will be successful".
Iraq has been gripped by a security vacuum since June 2014 when Daesh stormed the northern province of Mosul and declared a self-styled caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.
