ISIS Gains Ground near Ramadi

Islamic State fighters captured more territory outside the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province Wednesday, residents and local officials said.

In an offensive that began at dawn, the militants seized control of several villages – Albu-Ghanim, Sjariyah and Soufiya – near Ramadi, The Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week that Iraqi forces would next focus on retaking control of Anbar province after succeeding in pushing the Islamic State group out of the city of Tikrit.

Abadi met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday to ask for more help in the campaign against the militants. Obama pledged $205 million in humanitarian aid but did not publicly announce any new military assistance for Iraq.

The United States has been leading a campaign of airstrikes in Iraq to aid Iraqi forces. Obama said Tuesday that the Iraqi troops have retaken about a quarter of the territory seized by Islamic State fighters who’d swept through large areas of Iraq last June.