Not as clear as it would seem however.
Bloody battle for Iraq develops into a war on two fronts
A struggle for control of Iraq is taking place on two fronts, each with a starkly different balance of power
The one skill that almost every Iraqi civilian learns is how to flee quickly.
This week, it was the turn of the people of Ramadi to escape in their thousands as gunmen from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) advanced into their city.
“It was three o’clock in the morning when the fighting got too bad,” said Abu Mohammed, a father of two. “I was ready. I had kept our ID documents in the car so we could leave quickly. This is the seventh time my family has been displaced because of war.”
His family duly abandoned their home and possessions all over again.
A bloody struggle for control of Iraq is taking place on two fronts, each with a starkly different balance of power.
Along the Euphrates Valley and across the desert of Anbar province, Isil fighters are still on the march. This is where they launched their new assault on Ramadi, a provincial capital 100 miles west of Baghdad.
On the other front, which slices across the Tigris Valley, the terrorists have been forced on to the defensive. A counter-attack by the Baghdad government has expelled Isil from all but a few pockets of Saddam Hussein’s home city of Tikrit.
More here. H/T: Fjordman
NOTE: It’s worth pondering as to whether IS tactically withdrew most of its forces from Tikrit, let alone attacking it in the first place, in order to set up a massive attack and succeed in taking Ramadi.
