Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Islamic State of Iraq and Levant has reversed its losses in northern Iraq.

Iraqi sources said ISIL recaptured areas lost in the Anbar province, the largest in the country. On Dec. 13, ISIL, which controls a third of Iraq, killed at least 21 police officers when the jihadist movement seized the Anbar town of Wafa.

“The district is in an extremely dire situation amid clashes between security forces, backed by tribal militants, and ISIL,” Anbar provincial council chairman Sabah Al Karhout said.

The sources said Iraqi security forces have been hampered by lack of manpower and ammunition. They said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi was urged by Anbar officials to order massive air strikes on ISIL around Wafa, located near the provincial capital of Ramadi.

The sources said ISIL was advancing west and captured the towns of Hit and Kubaisa. They said ISIL’s goal was Ramadi, protected by Iraqi security forces and Sunni tribes loyal to Baghdad. The sources said ISIL has effectively cut off Iraqi military supplies to Anbar.

ISIL has also been moving toward the Shi’ite city of Samara. The sources said ISIL was exploiting the lack of government coordination with the Sunni tribes in Anbar and neighboring provinces.

On Dec. 13, ISIL shot down an Iraq Army helicopter over Samara, some 95 kilometers north of Baghdad. Officials said ISIL fired a shoulder-fired rocket that struck the helicopter, identified as a French-origin EC-635 helicopter, manufactured by Eurocopter. This marked at least the third Iraqi military helicopter since October 2014.

Shi’ite militias trained by Iran have been protecting Samara from an ISIL assault. The leader of Iran’s top militia, Mahdi Army commander Muqtada Sadr, said ISIL was expected to strike the city imminently.

  ISIL regains ground it lost in Iraq, WorldTribune.com