Baghdad--Iraqi officials voiced fears Wednesday that jihadists will use their seizure of a dam in Ramadi to mount fresh attacks on pro-government forces preparing to try to retake the city.
A string of advances last month by the Islamic State group cast doubt on the strategy of the US-led coalition battling the jihadists, but Washington has insisted it is on the right track.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said after the May 17 fall of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, that his men would take it back within days but operations are moving slowly.
IS militants used an unprecedented wave of suicide truck bomb attacks to seize Ramadi in a three-day blitz last month.
In recent days they have again used this weapon, which Abadi has described as having the same effect as "small nuclear bombs".
IS claimed responsibility Tuesday for a huge suicide attack that killed 47 people at a police base, which had been recently retaken as part of efforts to tighten the noose on Anbar.
As they edge towards Ramadi, officials said Iraqi forces risked coming under attack because IS had closed the gates of a dam in the city to dry up the Euphrates.
The move will enable IS fighters to cross the river more easily and to infiltrate more territory.
AFP
