Hundreds missing after ISIS suicide bomber strikes Iraqi army base

Five Iraqi soldiers survived a following an Islamic State (ISIS) suicide mission on their army base, the soldiers said a further 300 to 500 military personnel were missing and thought to be dead, kidnapped or in hiding following the attack in the Anbar province, the Washington Post said.

The military base is now under ISIS’ control after gunmen stormed it.

If the surviving soldiers’ accounts are true, then this would be the most disastrous day for the Iraqi army since ISIS took control of the country’s most northern city, Mosul.

The incident has highlighted the shortcomings of the Iraqi army, which the US has spent billions of dollars training and army. It also brings into question the army’s ability to work with the US as an ally in its attacks against ISIS targets in the country.

There is now increasing pressure on the new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, who is being accused of not being able to thwart terrorist activities.

The surviving soldiers said their based had come under daily attack in the week leading up to the suicide bombing. One attack included the use of chlorine gas, they said, an allegation which could not be verified.