Ramadi Iraq - A column of 3,000 Shi'ite militia fighters arrived at a military base near Ramadi today as Baghdad moved to retake the western Iraqi city that fell to Islamic State militants at the weekend in the biggest defeat for the government since mid-2014. Setting the stage for renewed fighting over the city, Islamic State militants advanced in armored vehicles from Ramadi towards the base where the Shi'ite paramilitaries were massing for a counter-offensive. Warplanes in the U.S. led coalition stepped up raids against the Islamists, conducting 19 strikes near Ramadi over the past 72 hours at the request of the Iraqi security forces.
