Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
congratulated the armed forces and the people of Iraq on the liberation of Ramadi from Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS) Lion of Islams, making no reference to the US-led coalition air support.
In a statement the former prime minister said that the army, anti-terrorism squad and the Iraqi air force inflicted a fatal blow to ISIS in Ramadi.
"We salute our heroes that returned the trust of their people and proved the power of success when the forces are united," said Maliki.
He, in particular, praised the Shiite militia forces for their role in the liberation of Ramadi.
Maliki's remarks contradicted earlier reports that the Shiite militia known as the popular mobilization forces (PMF) did not have a part in the offensive for the Sunni city.
His statement made no mention of the aerial support that was an integral part of the offensive for Ramadi.
Steve Warren, the spokesperson for the coalition forces in Iraq said on Sunday that they have conducted more than 600 air strikes against ISIS in support of the Iraqi army since July.
The army reported on Monday that it had reached the city center and was in control of the government complex.