Islam Times - US: ISIL made ‘substantial gains’ in Iraq

Islam Times - American envoy to US-led coalition fighting the ISIL terrorists says the group has advanced greatly in Iraq in spite of increasing air raids.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, John Allen, a retired four-star US general, said it was obvious that the militants have "made substantial gains in Iraq".

The general noted that it would take time to form forces comprising local people who will then fight them both in Iraq and Syria.

However, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, said on Monday that American military advisers are likely to be deployed in Iraq to take a more direct role in fighting against ISIL.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces so far managed to force the militants to surrender some of the areas they had previously seized control of.

Notwithstanding the successes, Allen said the group has "tactical momentum" in other areas and that the most worrying situation is in fact in Iraq. "The emergency in Iraq right now in Iraq is foremost in our thinking."

ISIL fighters have so far taken the control of much of the western Anbar province and are approaching areas west of the capital Baghdad.

Allen went on to say that the most important thing to do is to buy time so that the US can train and arm Iraqi security forces.

The objective is to provide Iraq's new Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi with "the opportunity to build a stable government that is inclusive."

US President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes on ISIL targets in Iraq in mid-August after Washington’s interests were threatened in the crisis-hit country. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia have also joined the US military campaign in Iraq.