Iraqi Forces Not Prepared for Conventional ISIS Fight

The Iraqi push against ISIS has stalled in key areas such as Ramadi because Iraqi forces were not trained properly to fight the right away and have not been equipped properly for the battle, a spokesman for the US-led coalition said. Iraqi forces have been delaying a major push against ISIS in Ramadi for multiple reasons, including a holiday season, but also largely because US and coalition countries trained Iraqi forces over the past 10 years for a counterinsurgency fight. However, ISIS has taken a more conventional tactic of gaining territory and using improvised explosive devices more like minefields than booby-traps, said Army Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, in a Thursday briefing at the Pentagon. The task force is changing how they train the Iraqis and providing them with the proper equipment to take on ISIS in a more conventional way, such as clearing minefields, Warren said. (Warren transcript.)