Iraqi Prime Minister Hayder Abadi criticized statements made Sunday by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in which he said the rout of Iraqi forces at the city of Ramadi showed they lacked the will to fight against Daesh.

Abadi said that Ashton had received wrong information about the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Ramadi, pointing out that Ramadi will be liberated within days.

Carter had told CNN that the Iraqis "vastly outnumbered" the Daesh forces but chose to withdraw.

The head of Iraq's defense and security committee said the comments were "unrealistic and baseless".

The Iraqi government has now deployed Shia militias to the area to try to halt the advance of Daesh.