Iraqi Parliament’s speaker Salim al-Juburi, said the operation by Iraqi government and allied forces to liberate Anbar and its capital Ramadi from ISIL was launched too soon.
He said the Sunni tribal fighters who had at least partially been holding off ISIL in Ramadi for months until two weeks ago need much more support and weapons.
“We have to focus on this point in our battle against Daesh [ISIL], which is described as a Sunni group,” said the 43-year-old president of the council of representatives, himself a Sunni.     
“Whoever confronts it must also be from the Sunni community, after being given support, and should not be second fiddle.”   
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had opposed deploying Shiite militias to Anbar, a Sunni stronghold, but the poor performance of the regular forces during the fall of Ramadi left him with few options.