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After the Iraqi government talked up its victory over the Islamic State group (IS, formerly known as ISIS) Shawan Mohammad Taha, a member of Parliament’s Defence Committee, admitted this was untrue, saying “Iraqi forces have failed to defeat the IS.”

Iraqi forces are relying on the Popular Mobilisation Militia and air support from the international coalition to regain control over the provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin and Anbar, which the IS took control of last June. However, Iraqi forces have not been able to take back any of these provinces yet.

“Fighting the IS is extremely difficult, and everyone now knows that Iraqi forces are unable to deal with the threat it poses, or achieve victory”, Taha said. “The government is talking about taking back control of some villages and suburbs. This is not an accomplishment”.

He called for “a comprehensive security strategy to combat the IS and get rid of it, cleansing all Iraqi cities under its control”. He said that “this strategy cannot be implemented effectively by depending on Iraqi forces alone… This needs international support.”

Taha also said that “there is a need for political action along with military action. We need to regain the Iraqi people’s confidence in their government. Exclusion, marginalisation and the targeting of particular elements have driven the recruitment of Iraqis into terrorist organisations.”

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.