ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq said Sunday that several thousand soldiers had completed training under American instructors, as Baghdad builds up the US-trained army that collapsed without a fight in an ISIS onslaught more than a year ago.

“They (US forces) have been monitoring and training 4,800 Iraqi soldiers,” a statement by Iraq’s defense ministry said, adding that that the recruits were ready for battle against the Islamic State group, known as Daesh in Arabic.

“About 3,000 forces attended the last course three weeks ago, which trained Iraqi soldiers in the latest tactics and strategies, preparing them for modern war as well as the strategies and tactics that are used by Deash,” the ministry said.

It added that the courses are especially useful for urban warfare and had boosted the army’s ability to defeat ISIS. The soldiers also underwent weapons training by US instructors.

Since invading Iraq in 2003, the United States has been heavily involved in building and equipping an Iraqi military, including its air force.

But US-trained Iraqi forces that took over security after the United States ended its occupation in 2011 were hardly able to stand up against ISIS when it launched a lightning offensive in June last year and took over a third of Iraq.

Iraqi troops were widely condemned – including by US officials – for fleeing before the June 2014 onslaught and leaving huge caches of light and heavy weapons that had been sold to Iraq by the United States.

The US recognizes that the Peshmerga forces of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan Region have been the most effective bulwark on the ground against ISIS.

However, US officials refuse to arm the autonomous Kurdistan Region – which has its own forces – directly. Washington insists on supplying the Kurds through an inefficient and graft-ridden Iraqi administration that is locked in rows with Erbil.

Rudaw