Iraq

Prime Minister (PM) Haidar al-Abadi and Defense Minister Khalid al-Ubaidi have come under increasing pressure over the last three days.

As expected, the recent Iraqi-American cooperation that sidelined Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’a militias has generated a push back from Iranian allies in Iraq.

ISIS is likely reconstituting itself in some areas where it had been pushed out in late 2014.

The Iraqi government seems to have successfully responded to an imminent ISIS threat on two important fronts, Ramadi and Baiji, that emerged over the course of last week.

The situation in Anbar has deteriorated over the last two days as ISIS made further gains around the city and launched an assault on the city center.

Pressure against the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) has escalated in Iraq as Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi visits Washington to request more military and financial aid to curb the advances of anti-government militants.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi is on his way to visit Washington to meet President Obama likely to request more U.S. support for Iraq's war against ISIS.

ISIS responded to Iraqi-government led operations in Anbar by launching two major attacks on Ramadi and areas between Balad and Baghdad. 

The Government of PM Abadi and the local Anbari Government are embarking on a major undertaking to recapture areas of Anbar Province that fell out of government control in early 2014.

The contest to reverse ISIS’s territorial gains in Iraq is escalating.