Iraq reinforces defenders of Ramadi

BAGHDAD — Iraq has sent reinforcements to help its battered forces in Ramadi, a city now largely held by the Islamic State group after militants seized the main government compound the day before, a military spokesman said Saturday.

The spokesman of the Joint Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, told Iraqi state television that the U.S.-led coalition had been supporting Iraqi troops with “painful” airstrikes since late Friday.

On Friday, the militants swept through Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar province, in a coordinated offensive that included three near-simultaneous suicide car bombings. They seized the main government headquarters and other key parts of the city.

Local officials said dozens of security forces and civilians were killed, mainly the families of the troops. Ten police officers and 30 pro-government tribal fighters were among those killed.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke Friday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, promising the delivery of heavy weapons, including AT-4 shoulder-held rockets to counter suicide car bombs, according to a U.S. Embassy statement.

The statement said both leaders agreed on the “importance and urgency of mobilizing tribal fighters working in coordination with Iraqi security forces to counter ISIL and to ensure unity of effort among all of Iraq’s communities.” It used an alternative acronym for the IS group.

Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, Iraqi forces and Kurdish fighters have made gains against the IS group, including re-capturing the northern city of Tikrit. But progress has been slow in Anbar, a vast Sunni province where anger at the Shiite-led government runs deep and where U.S. forces struggled for years to beat back an insurgency.