Fall of Ramadi a 'defeat for American strategy'

The fall of Ramadi to Islamic State fighters was due to a lack of US and coalition support for Iraqi troops on the ground, says a journalist embedded with Iraqi special forces in the city before it was taken.

The US says Iraqi soldiers defending Ramadi were at fault for showing “no will to fight”.

But Ayman Oghanna, who left Ramadi just before it was overrun by IS last week, said the city's fall instead represented a defeat for American strategy in Iraq.

Ramadi had been held for 14 months by one unit – the so-called Golden Division - which became exhausted before the most recent offensive, he said.

“I don’t think you can fault their leadership,” said Mr Oghanna.

“They are exhausted – you can’t drive a Lamborghini off-road for a week and expect it to work like a special elite car.”