Islamic State threatens to take Iraqi province

Islamic State threatens to take Iraqi province

Iraqi security forces rest on a sidewalk following clashes with jihadists on Sept. 19 in Ramadi, the provincial capital of the western province of Anbar and the birthplace of al-Qaeda in Iraq. (Azhar Shallal/AFP/Getty Images)

ERIN CUNNINGHAM 
11:00 AM

BAGHDAD — Islamic State militants are threatening to overrun a key province in western Iraq in what would be a major victory for the jihadists and an embarrassing setback for the U.S.-led coalition targeting the group.

A win for the Islamic State in Anbar province would give the militants control of one of the country’s most important dams and several large army installations, potentially adding to their abundant stockpile of weapons. It would also allow them to establish a supply line from Syria almost to Baghdad, and give them a valuable position from which to launch attacks on the Iraqi capital. 

The Islamic State’s offensive in Anbar has received less attention than its assault on the Syrian border city of Kobane, where battles are playing out in view of news photographers standing on hills in nearby Turkey. But in recent weeks, Islamic State fighters have systematically invaded towns and villages in Anbar, besieged army posts and police stations, and mounted attacks on Iraqi troops in central Ramadi. 

The Islamic State had already secured a major foothold in Anbar province in January, when it seized the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, the provincial capital. It pushed farther into the province in June. Still, Iraq’s government was able to maintain small pockets of authority in the majority-Sunni region. 

Iraqi forces have been struggling to beat back the latest jihadist offensive and have suffered reverses, including the loss of two army bases. U.S. warplanes and attack helicopters have hit Islamic State targets and provided support to Iraqi troops fighting the jihadists in Anbar. The U.S. airstrikes helped fend off an assault last month on the Haditha dam, part of the militants’ drive to control Iraq’s water supplies. But overall, the strikes have failed to curb the militants’ momentum. 

“If the Islamic State controls Anbar, they would be able to threaten serious targets in Baghdad,” said an Iraqi security expert, Saeed al-Jayashi. “The government would lose the Haditha dam, and the security forces would have to retreat,” he said. “There would be a bloodbath.”

Anbar province — Iraq’s largest — was the epicenter of the bloody Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces that raged after the invasion in 2003. In 2006, Anbar’s numerous Sunni tribes decided to back the U.S.-supported government against Iraq’s al-Qaeda affiliate, in what later became known as the Sunni Awakening. The insurgency was crushed.