Iraqi forces lacked will to fight, says US defence secretary
Counterattack east of Ramadi comes as anti-IS forces mass for offensive against the jihadists
The Islamic State group's takeover of Ramadi was stark evidence that Iraqi forces lacked the "will to fight," Defence Secretary Ash Carter said, in the harshest assessment yet from a high-ranking Obama administration official of the US effort to bolster Iraqi forces.
Iraqi soldiers "vastly outnumbered" their opposition in the capital of Anbar province but quickly withdrew from the city in Iraq's Sunni heartland, Carter said on CNN's State of the Union.
The Iraqis left behind large numbers of US-supplied vehicles, including several tanks.
"What apparently happened is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight," Carter said. "They were not outnumbered; in fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force. That says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
Iraqi lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, the head of the parliamentary defence and security committee, called Carter's comments "unrealistic and baseless".
"The Iraqi army and police did have the will to fight IS group in Ramadi, but these forces lack good equipment, weapons and aerial support," he said. "The US officials should provide Iraq with advanced weapons as soon as possible instead of making such statements."