A pro-ISIS channel on Telegram complained about the presence of 60 plus US soldiers in Ramadi, specifically seen inside Anbar University.
“They tour and walk inside the university like it is their own land,” a supporter remarked. “Wake up and attack them.” Earlier this month the same channel reported angrily that “Americans are walking freely” in the area and that “civilians are greeting them, taking pictures and laughing with them.”
According to the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs the soldiers are busy “demining” several “stockpiles of homemade explosives, IEDs, and improvised ordnance” and “clearing the mess” in one of Ramadi’s schools.
While ISIS was routed out of Ramadi nearly a year ago, the terror group still has sympathizers and former members in the area, and the presence of Americans is being keenly monitored.
This week too, the pro-ISIS channel reported that “American military personnel arrived at Tareq Military Base east Fallujah,” and listed other places where Americans were seen, including the university in Ramadi and other military camps in Anbar province. “Oh Americans, we swear to God you will regret you arrived in Anbar, as the soldiers of the Dawla (Islamic State) are everywhere. We will terrorise you, one by one.”
The channel also warned Islamic “brothers” of raids and arrest carried out by Iraqi security forces inside residential areas in Ramadi.
The Amaq News Agency, run by ISIS, claimed the group has launched several attacks against local security forces in the area.
The London-based al-Quds Al-Araby newspaper reported earlier this week that American troops deployed in Anbar were participating in missions on the ground.
The newspaper quoted a former Iraqi army officer and a current commander of a tribal paramilitary force who said that “US forces have changed their previous plans in Anbar, beginning recently to adopt a different approach. They shifted from relying on air forces and intelligence efforts to joining with governmental forces combing the province on the ground.”
