A rebel fighter fires a weapon as a fellow fighter covers his ears during clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on the frontline of Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood May 23, 2015. REUTERS/Hosam Katan
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State poured more fighters into Ramadi as security forces and Shi'ite paramilitaries prepared to try to retake the Iraqi city, while Washington scrambled on Monday to reassure Baghdad after a U.S. official's sharp criticism of Iraqi forces.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi after Defence Secretary Ash Carter questioned Iraqi troops' will to fight when Ramadi fell. The U.S. damage-control effort came as the loss of Ramadi and Palmyra in Syria put its strategy against Islamic State into question.
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