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Iraqi PM complains of insufficient int'l support to halt IS

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi on Tuesday said here he regretted the lack of support from international coalition allies to stem the Islamic State's alarming advances in the country.

"Air support is not enough. There is too little surveillance. Daech (Islamic State) is mobile and move in very small groups. It's not enough," Al-Abadi said.

"There are many speeches of support to Iraq but little action on the ground. There is an international problem and must be resolved," he was quoted as saying by local media ahead of a meeting in Paris on the worsening situation in Iraq.

A gathering of 24 ministers and international organizations met in the French capital on Tuesday to discuss the military situation in Iraq where Islamist fighters have made further advances recently and seized strategic zones in the country and in the neighboring Syria.

Last September, France joined the U.S.-led coalition against IS with the launch of Operation Chammal at the request of Iraqi authorities. Baghdad asked for an enhancement of military support for local forces to combat (IS), which is bent on imposing its version of Islamic law in Iraq and Syria. However, the coalition rules out the deployment of ground troops in the region.

Despite month-long air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition, IS made more advances after taking the control of Ramadi city, the capital of Anbar province and seized around a third of the ancient city of Palmyra at the end of May. Endit