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Islamic State advance failure of world - Iraqi PM Iraq coalition winning against IS, says US
(about 4 hours later)
The advance of Islamic State militants (IS) in Iraq is a "failure" of the world, Iraq's prime minister has said. Iraq and its allies are pursuing "the winning strategy" to combat Islamic State in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Haider al-Abadi also said sanctions on Russia and Iran had made it difficult for Iraq to buy more weapons, saying the country had received "almost none". Mr Blinken said air strikes and supporting Iraqi forces was the right way to tackle the IS threat.
Ministers from 20 countries are in Paris to discuss ways to step up the fight against IS - but Russia, Iran and Syria are not part of the talks. Ministers from 20 countries debated the issue in Paris - though Russia, Iran and Syria were absent.
Iraq's prime minister said other countries had a duty to support it in its struggle against IS.
Haider al-Abadi earlier called the advance of IS a "failure" of the world.
But at a news conference with Mr Blinken and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius following the talks, Mr Abadi said he had received fresh commitments of help from allies.
IS has recently made gains in Iraq despite US-led coalition air strikes.IS has recently made gains in Iraq despite US-led coalition air strikes.
Officials said the meeting in the French capital would focus on recapturing cities from IS and halting the group's flow of funds and fighters.
Last month, IS militants seized Ramadi in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, as well as the strategically important Syrian town of Tadmur and the neighbouring ancient ruins of Palmyra.Last month, IS militants seized Ramadi in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, as well as the strategically important Syrian town of Tadmur and the neighbouring ancient ruins of Palmyra.
'Air support not enough' Weapons pledge
Mr Abadi, who is attending the talks, said Iraq needed "all the support of the world" to counter the IS advance, but was "not getting much". Mr Blinken - who represented the US at the meeting in the absence of Secretary of State John Kerry, who broke his leg in a cycling accident - hailed Mr Abadi's plan to tackle IS advances in Iraq's western Anbar province.
"I think this is a failure on the part of the world. There is a lot of talk of support for Iraq, there is very little on the ground." He said that included training and equipping local tribes to join the fight, improving weapons provision, expanding and improving army and police forces, and supporting a new "development fund for stabilisation" to get immediate assistance to areas won back.
"Air support is not enough. There is too little surveillance. [IS militants are] mobile and move in very small groups. It's not enough," Mr Abadi added. He said IS controlled 25% less Iraqi territory than it did when the coalition came together nine months ago.
He also urged the international community to help Iraq purchase weapons to fight the group, complaining that sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine and on Iran over its nuclear programme, meant his government was unable to buy arms from either country. "This will be," he said, "a long campaign, but we will succeed if we remain united, determined and focused."
"The money is there sitting in the bank, but we cannot get [the weapons]," he told reporters. "We are not asking for arms, but please let us purchase arms easily." Mr Abadi earlier complained that sanctions against Russia and Iran had made it difficult for Iraq to buy more weapons, saying the country had received "almost none".
Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent, Paris Mr Blinken said the US would ship anti-tank rockets to Iraq for use against suicide vehicles.
The meeting in Paris is a tacit admission that the current international strategy against the Islamic State militants is not working. Mr Abadi also said he had received commitments that foreign countries would help stop the flow of foreign fighters into IS as well as tackling the illegal trade in petrol and antiquities - "the means by which Daesh [IS] has been financing itself".
Despite a huge number of air strikes against their positions in Iraq and Syria, and the deployment of hundreds of Western military trainers to bolster Iraqi and Kurdish forces, IS continues to advance across the region. "Each drop of petroleum which crosses the border is also a drop of blood," Mr Abadi said.
So now the Paris meeting will focus on what more needs to be done to recapture cities like Ramadi, build up a Sunni tribal force in Iraq, choke off the jihadists' flow of funds and fighters, and confront their ideology. Sensitive situation
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abadi is coming under increasing pressure to be more inclusive towards Iraq's Sunni population.
Many Sunnis feel disenfranchised by the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad, a sentiment that has helped enable IS to take over much of the country, including the second city of Mosul. Without addressing this grievance the international campaign against IS can have only limited success.
Iraq has become increasingly reliant on Iranian-backed Shia militias to take on IS in recent months, raising fears of worsening sectarian tensions as they seek to drive the jihadist group out of predominantly Sunni areas like Anbar.Iraq has become increasingly reliant on Iranian-backed Shia militias to take on IS in recent months, raising fears of worsening sectarian tensions as they seek to drive the jihadist group out of predominantly Sunni areas like Anbar.
The role of the militias is adding to what France has called "an especially fragile" situation, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris.The role of the militias is adding to what France has called "an especially fragile" situation, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris.
Ministers will discuss "lasting political solutions in order to resolve the Iraqi crisis," the French foreign ministry said. The meeting comes a day after an IS suicide attack on a police base in Anbar province killed at least 45 people.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will miss the meeting because of a cycling accident. Those who died were initially thought to all be federal police officers but a source later told the BBC that 15 Iranian military advisers were among them.
The meeting comes a day after an IS suicide attack on a police base in Anbar province killed at least 45 people. Those who died were initially thought to all be federal police officers but a source later told the BBC that 15 Iranian military advisers were among them. A senior security source in Anbar meanwhile told the BBC that the "final touches" were being put to plans to drive IS out of Ramadi.
A senior security source in Anbar meanwhile told the BBC that the "final touches" were being put to a plan to drive IS out of Ramadi.
The source said six Iranian-made rocket launchers had been transported to the frontline and that 3,000 fighters had completed basic training near Habbaniya military base, east of Ramadi, in preparation for the assault on the city.The source said six Iranian-made rocket launchers had been transported to the frontline and that 3,000 fighters had completed basic training near Habbaniya military base, east of Ramadi, in preparation for the assault on the city.
As well as discussing the military situation, the meeting in Paris is expected to address threats to cultural heritage, protection of persecuted minorities and the refugee crisis created by the conflict.
IS has already destroyed ancient sites in Iraq that pre-date Islam and there are fears it may do the same to the ruins of Palmyra, a Unesco World Heritage site.
Also on Monday, the BBC broadcast footage appearing to show IS militants torturing a 14-year-old Syrian boy. The video was filmed by an IS defector.