ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – One thousand fighters from Anbar tribal forces have been trained and armed for the impending counter-attack of the Iraqi joint forces against ISIS in the provincial capital Ramadi, said the provincial council on Monday. "The Iraqi Army has formed two regiments of Anbar tribal fighters who had previously joined Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Units] in Anbar and were being trained at the Habbaniyah military base in east of Ramadi,” said the statement, adding that “The regiments consist of 1,000 fighters and all of them are from the Anbar tribes.” According to the statement, these newly armed regiments received military training and are well-prepared to take part in the battle for Ramadi along with the Iraqi army and the Shiite militias known collectively as the Hashd al-Shaabi. Prior to the attack on Ramadi, Iraq’s prime minister ordered the country's security forces not to abandon their positions. Even so, some troops reportedly left their weapons and vehicles to flee the militants' arrival in the embattled city. ISIS seized control of the city on Sunday, sending Iraqi forces racing out of the city in a major loss despite the support of US-led airstrikes targeting the extremists' positions. Abadi on Sunday ordered the Hashd al-Shaabi to gear up to take part in the campaign to recapture Ramadi.
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