WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) continue to lack the capabilities to fight the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia), a US Defense Department watchdog revealed in a report.
"The ISF continues to lack key capabilities required to fight ISIS [Islamic State]," the report, issued by the Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) Lead Inspector General's office, said on Tuesday.
The report said the ISF specifically lacks operational reach into less populated areas and the inability to "find and fix" a target is a big shortfall in its capabilities.
The ISF does not have a significant enough force to control large desert areas and has been unable to retain control of territory cleared of the Islamic State in Salah ad Din province, the report said citing the OIR.
In addition, the report said the ISF is unwilling or incapable of holding terrain in the mountains and central and southern wadis of Kirkuk province.
However, despite the shortfalls, the report said Iraq's elite US-trained special operations forces have dramatically improved their effectiveness.
An estimated 18,000 Islamic State fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, mobilized in terrorist cells and strike units, according to media reports.
