U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said that Iraqi forces "failed to fight" in Ramadi, which has fallen to Islamic State militants, and said the troops lacked the will to defend themselves.
"What apparently happened was the Iraqi forces showed no will to fight," Carter said on CNN's State of the Union on May 24.
Carter said Iraqi soldiers "vastly outnumbered" their opposition in the capital of Anbar Province but quickly withdrew from the city.
Iraqi forces left behind large numbers of U.S.-supplied vehicles, including tanks.
Iraqi lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, the head of the parliamentary defense and security committee, called Carter's comments "unrealistic and baseless," in an interview with AP on May 24.
He blamed Washington for failing to provide "good equipment, weapons and aerial support" to Iraqi soldiers.
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Armenian Border Residents Protest As Yerevan, Baku Agree On Delimitation
2Navalnaya Warns Of Putin's Willingness To Strike In Europe
3Iranian Commander Announces New Morality Enforcement Body
4Zelenskiy Says U.S. Breakthrough On Military Aid Gives Ukraine A 'Chance For Victory'
5One Winner Of The Ukraine War Is Azerbaijan
6Church, Entire Village 'Erased' In Azerbaijan's Recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh
7Insta-Nazis: How Claims Of 'Rehabilitating Nazism' Are Molding A Militaristic Society In Putin's Russia
8Iran Disputes Reports Of First Delivery Of Russian Su-35 Fighter Jets
9Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
10Swiss Report Big Drop In Frozen Russian Assets
Subscribe