ISIS claims having shot down Iraqi fighter plane

U.S. Says Iraqi Recruits in Short Supply
Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that training efforts in Iraq so far have been “slowed” by a lack of Iraqi volunteers, sparking concerns about how effective those security forces can be in pushing back the advancing enemy.U.S. officials had hoped to train about 24,000 new Iraqi fighters by this fall but so far have seen only a third of that total in the four training sites set up across the country.
“As I’ve told Iraqi leaders, while the United States is open to supporting Iraq more than we already are, we must see a greater commitment from all parts of the Iraqi government,” Carter said.Earlier this month, President Obama announced plans to send 450 U.S. personnel to Iraq’s military base in Anbar province to set up a new training site with local security forces.
The move brings the total U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq to more than 3,500 assigned to assistance and not combat roles.
Islamic State said on Thursday it had shot down an Iraqi fighter plane north of the city of Ramadi in Anbar Province,reported media from England.
A member of an anti-Islamic State Sunni force called Sahwa (Awakening) said an Iraqi fighter jet, a Russian-made Su-25, was seen in flames as it crashed after being shot down north of Ramadi. Iraq’s government relies on a U.S.-led coalition and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in its fight against Islamic State, which holds a third of the country as well as parts of neighbouring Syria.