Pro-Iran militias take upper hand after U.S.-backed forces crumble in Anbar

Shiite militias are taking the lead in the battle for the Iraqi city of Ramadi, in a sign of lessened U.S. influence.

Armored vehicles of the Iraqi Army and popular mobilization units patrol the area near Habbaniyah lake in Anbar province on May 28, 2015. (Ahmad Mousa/The Washington Post)

By Loveday Morris-May 30

HABBANIYAH, Iraq — Iraqi forces have seized from Islamic State militants a string of hamlets and villages in the dust-choked desert southeast of Ramadi in recent days, closing in on the key city for a counteroffensive.

But the yellow-and-green flags that line the sides of the newly secured roads and flutter from rooftops leave no doubt as to who is leading the fighting here: Kitaeb Hezbollah, a Shiite militia designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Pro-Iran Militias Take Upper Hand After U.S.-backed Forces Crumble in Anbar by Thavam Ratna