Baghdad’s major anti-IS ground offensive looms

BAGHDAD: A top US envoy said Iraqi troops would launch a major ground offensive against the Islamic State group in the coming weeks, as a suicide bomber killed 14 people in Baghdad Monday.
John Allen, the US coordinator for the anti-IS coalition of Western and Arab countries, said Sunday Iraqi troops would begin a major offensive “in the weeks ahead.”
“When the Iraqi forces begin the ground campaign to take back Iraq, the coalition will provide major firepower associated with that,” he told Jordan’s official Petra news agency.
On Monday, a suicide bomber attacked Baghdad’s Shiite-majority Kadhimiyah district, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 43, officials said.
The bomber struck near pavement vendors in crowded Aden Square in the second suicide bombing to hit the city in three days.
On Saturday, an attack inside a restaurant in the Baghdad Jadida area killed at least 23 people.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Monday foreign troops would not be allowed on the ground in Syria to battle IS, also telling journalists Amman had not responded to a Damascus request to coordinate efforts against the jihadis.
Coalition warplanes launched three air strikes against IS in Syria in the 24 hours to 0600 GMT on Monday, the Pentagon said, and another six in Iraq.
The Observatory also reported at least 15 people killed and dozens wounded on Monday in Syrian regime airstrikes on the rebel-held Douma area east of Damascus.