ISIS makes “substantial gains” in Iraq: US envoy

NEW YORK – The senior US envoy for tackling Islamic State (ISIS) has warned that well-armed militiamen are making “substantial gains" in Iraq, but that efforts against the group continue around the besieged north Syrian town of Kobane.

Gen. John Allen said ISIS is fighting with “tactical initiative and momentum” in Iraq’s western province of Anbar. Intensified US-led airstrikes around Kobane have killed “several hundred” attackers, but the Kurdish-held town “could very well still fall”, he warned.

“There was a need for additional fire support to go in to try to relieve the defenders and to buy some white space ultimately for the reorganization of the ground,” Gen Allen said about Kobane. “And so we have picked up the tempo and the intensity of the airstrikes.”

US-led forces launched 18 air strikes on IS targets around Kobane on Tuesday and Wednesday, the US military said in a statement. The town’s Kurdish defenders say they are repelling the month-long advance of ISIS, which is also known as ISIL.

Karwan Zebari, director of the Kurdistan Regional Government office in Washington, urged the US and its allies to boost support for the town, which has become a bellwether for the effectiveness of US-led airstrikes.

“We must ensure that Kobane does not fall; that would mark a symbolic victory for ISIS and help ISIS to further attract and recruit militants to their ranks,” he told Rudaw. “We have to make sure that the Kurdish forces in the Kobane canton are supported by the international community and are given the equipment they need to defend Kobane and repel ISIS attacks"

Several hundred kilometres away, ISIS forces are said to be advancing on the Iraqi town of Amariya al-Falluja, one of the last still controlled by government forces in Anbar province and only 40km from the capital, Baghdad.

“They still retain some tactical momentum in other areas, and that’s to be expected,” Gen Allen told reporters in Washington. “We’re only new into this strategy. We’re only new into the use of airstrikes.”

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, says 180,000 refugees have fled following ISIS gains in Anbar, adding to a crisis of 1.8 million displaced Iraqis – many of whom have moved to the relative security of northern Kurdish areas.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama held a videoconference with European leaders on Wednesday and agreed on the need to step up an operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria that has been officially called ‘Inherent Resolve’.

Obama and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy agreed to increase support for an “inclusive political approach” in Iraq and training for local forces in Iraq and Syria, a statement from UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said.

ISIS makes “substantial gains” in Iraq: US envoy

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