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Iraq Deputy PM Slams US-Trained Gov't Forces for Inability to Fight ISIL

© AP PhotoSecurity forces defend their headquarters against attacks by Islamic State extremists during sand storm in the eastern part of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 14, 2015
Security forces defend their headquarters against attacks by Islamic State extremists during sand storm in the eastern part of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 14, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Mutlaq criticized government forces trained by US instructors for their inability to protect the Iraqi city of Ramadi from the Islamic State.

An Iraqi army member mans a tank on the outskirts of Baiji refinery north of Tikrit, during a joint operation between the army and popular mobilisation units to retake the remaining area of the Baiji oil refinery from Islamic State (IS) group jihadists, on May 24, 2015 - Sputnik International
Iraqi Forces to Recapture Ramadi in Several Days – Prime Minister
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Mutlaq told CNN Monday that the Iraqi army's reluctance to defend Ramadi "surprised all of us."

"It's not clear for us why such a unit, which was supposed to be trained by the Americans for years, and supposed to be one of the best units in the army, would withdraw from Ramadi in such a way," he said, adding that "this is not the army that we are willing to see or we are expecting to see."

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said earlier that ISIL captured Ramadi because the Iraqi military refused to fight. According to the Pentagon, Iraqi forces greatly outnumbered the enemy, yet fled the battle.

Iraqi soldiers help a wounded comrade in the area of Sayed Ghareeb, near Dujail, some 70 kilometres north of Baghdad - Sputnik International
Weak-Willed Iraqi Forces to Blame for Fall of Ramadi - US Defense Secretary
The Islamic State jihadist group currently controls large areas in Iraq and Syria, as well as other regions in countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

The militants took control of Ramadi, located some 80 miles west of Baghdad, on May 17 after several days of intense fighting.

Iraqi forces and Kurdish militias are attempting to counter the advance of ISIL on the ground, while a US-led international coalition conducts airstrikes on ISIL positions. The coalition is also responsible for the training and equipping of the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces.

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