ANBAR, Iraq – A Sunni tribal force of 50,000 is to be formed in Iraq’s Anbar province with US and coalition help to crush the Islamic State’s (ISIS) occupation of the country’s largest province, the provincial chief disclosed.
"I received a telephone call on Tuesday from the US embassy (saying) approval has been obtained by the international coalition to form a force of 50,000-strong fighters from Anbar tribes," said Sabah Karhut, chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council.
The US State Department has denied it is behind the initiative, saying the Iraqi government would organize the force with US support.
“It certainly is an initiative we support, but the Government of Iraq is leading the initiative,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.
US forces already are advising the Iraqis in Anbar and similar Sunni militias, called the Sahwa, were instrumental in pushing al-Qaeda out of Anbar and other areas after they sprouted following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Commenting on funding, equipping and training the tribal forces, Karhut said: "The international coalition forces will bear the expense of training and arming this force.” He said its aim would be to “fight the Islamic State and protect the cities of Anbar province in western Iraq."
The US has invited senior Sunni leaders, including the Iraqi Vice President Osama Nujaifi, to Washington for talks.
Karhut said that concrete steps to form the tribal force would be taken after the Washington visit.
About a third of Iraq has been under ISIS occupation since the militants rolled over the Iraqi Army in June.
Karhut likened the Sunni tribal force to Iraq’s Kurdish Peshmerga army, which has been fighting ISIS since early August. Shiite militias have also been formed by the Baghdad government to fight the militants in the Iraqi capital and other Shiite-dominated areas.
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