Islamic State terrorists successfully conquered the city of Ramadi over the weekend, sending Iraqi soldiers fleeing out of the city while the black flag of ISIS was raised in triumph.
Traveling aboard Air Force One, Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz admitted that the news was troubling, but that the administration would not give up assisting Iraqi soldiers from the air in the fight against ISIS.
“There’s no denying that this is indeed a setback,” he said. “But there’s also no denying that we will help the Iraqis take back Ramadi.”
Although Schultz had no new strategy to reveal to reporters, he insisted that U.S. airstrikes would continue to take out ISIS targets.
“Our aircraft are in the air right now and searching for ISIL targets,” he said. “They will continue to do so until Ramadi is retaken.”
He says some 32 airstrikes have been launched in the past three weeks – including eight strikes in the past 24 hours. Those strikes, however, do not appear to have been enough to prevent the city from falling.
“These strikes will be continuing,” Schultz reassured reporters. “ISIL will ultimately be defeated in Ramadi and elsewhere in Iraq because we believe the Iraqi forces have the capacity to ultimately take Ramadi with coalition support.”
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