Iraq

Turkey
In December 2015, Turkey deployed hundreds of troops in the Bashiqa area of Iraq, with the stated aim of protecting its military personnel training Iraqi militia to fight against the Islamic State. After criticism from Baghdad and calls from President Obama, some troops were withdrawn in mid-December to another base inside Iraq's Kurdistan region. Despite the Iraqi base coming under fire from Islamic militants on December 16, Turkish armed forces acknowledged the demands and continued moving out after Iraq took its criticism to the U.N. Security Council on December 18.

United States
The U.S. military led an international coalition waging an air offensive on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where the militant group controlled large swathes of territory. However, there were mistakes. On December 19, a U.S. aircraft mistakenly carried out an airstrike that killed 9 Iraqi soldiers near the city of Fallujah.

Islamic State
On May 17, 2015, the central city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State after a six-month battle. Shia militiamen allied to the Iraqi army advanced to a nearby base in preparation for a series of counter-attacks. The capture meant it would take longer for Iraqi forces to move against them in Mosul, where militants celebrated victory in Anbar by firing shots into the air. In mid-December 2015, security forces made advances on two fronts in Ramadi, clearing militants from a military command base and a sprawling western neighborhood. After Iraqi military planes dropped leaflets on the city on December 20, asking residents to leave the city, Iraqi forces launched a counter-attack to retake the city on December 22. The offensive to capture the city center started at dawn as military units crossed the Euphrates River. Local Sunni tribes were not involved directly in the assault, but were active in support activities across the province.

The control of major population centers in Iraq and Syria allowed the Islamic State to maintain a revenue base, controlling oil resources and large, fertile agricultural areas, and possibly plan attacks outside its core territory.