Iraqi Troops Launch Offensive to Retake Ramadi

The Iraqi government has launched a new operation to drive Islamic State forces out of Anbar Province, to take back the capital of Ramadi which ISIS captured earlier this month.

The fall of Ramadi marked a major defeat for Iraqi troops. It came after ISIS had begun seizing large swaths of Anbar in 2014, in the province west of Baghdad.

The takeover of Ramadi also appeared to signal an ISIS resurgence after Iraq troops had been making progress against them in recent months in northern Iraq, with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes.

On Tuesday, Iraqi state TV announced government forces began their new counteroffensive to take back Ramadi. And officials in Anbar say there is now ongoing fighting and airstrikes west and south of the provincial capital.

Dr. Terry Law, chairman of World Compassion Ministries in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has delivered relief aid and medical assistance to Iraq since before the U.S. invasion in 2003. He also played a key role in convincing Ramadi's Sunni leaders to join the U.S. surge in 2007.

He spoke with CBN News about the current situation in the country. Click play below to watch.

The Iraqi military is being backed by Shiite and Sunni paramilitary forces. A Shiite militia spokesman said Iraqi forces have surrounded the provincial capital, Ramadi, from three sides.

The U.S. military says it will provide some 2,000 anti-tank rockets to Iraq "within the next week" to help it fight the Islamic State.

The U.S.-led coalition has carried out more than 4,100 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since beginning its campaign in August.