Reuters, Baghdad :Iraq has for the first time deployed soldiers trained by the U.S.-led coalition in their campaign to retake the city of Ramadi from Islamic State militants, the U.S. military said on Thursday.The disclosure came during an unannounced visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter to Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and underscored the need for capable Iraqi ground forces to battle back Islamic State.”We’re making some progress. We need to make more,” Carter told U.S. troops gathered at Baghdad airport.Islamic State seized Anbar’s capital Ramadi two months ago, extending its control over the Euphrates valley west of Baghdad and dealing a major setback to Abadi and the U.S.-backed army he entrusted with its defense.The fall of Ramadi was the Iraqi army’s worst defeat since Islamic State militants swept through north Iraq last summer and raised questions about the ability of the Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad to overcome the sectarian divide that has helped fuel the Islamic State’s expansion in the Sunni heartland of Anbar.Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters traveling with Carter that the roughly 3,000 coalition-trained soldiers joined the Ramadi operation in recent days.Some 500 Sunni tribesmen were also participating, Warren said. He declined to say how many Iraqi forces in total were involved in the Ramadi campaign, citing operational security.U.S. President Barack Obama responded to the fall of Ramadi last month by ordering 450 more U.S. troops to set up at Taqaddum base, which is closer to the fighting in Anbar province and only about 15 miles (25 km) from Ramadi.Riyadh reports adds: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Thursday the Iran nuclear deal appears to have the provisions needed to curtail Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon in what were the most favorable remarks yet from the kingdom on the recent agreement.Saudi officials had expressed skepticism over the U.S.-led deal struck earlier this month between six world powers and Iran, Saudi’s regional rival.
