Iraqi forces ‘liberate’ Ramadi from ISIL militants

BAGHDAD (AP) – A triumphant Iraqi prime minister on Tuesday toured the western city of Ramadi, just a day after government troops routed Islamic State militants from the area and recaptured a key government complex.

Al-Mahlawi said he could neither confirm nor deny media reports that Islamic State fighters had pulled out of the government complex by nightfall Sunday.

Iraqi security forces raise an Iraqi flag near the provincial council building in central Ramadi. Beyond statements from the Iraqi government and from its media outlets, few have claimed the city is fully liberated.

Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province, fell to ISIL in May in an embarrassing setback for Iraqi forces.

A spokesman for Iraq’s counter terrorism forces, Sabah al-Numan said that, a precise planning and constant coordination with the US led global coalition and local Sunni tribes, tipped the balance on the battlefield. Gen. Yahya Rasool, a military spokesman, said, “Ramadi has been liberated and the armed forces of the counter-terrorism service have raised the Iraqi flag above the government complex”.

Regarding the recapture of Ramadi, U.S.-led coalition spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren said in a statement that the battle’s result was a positive development.

By midday Monday, remaining IS fighters fled the government compound before the advancement of Iraqi forces supported by American airstrikes. Home to about 200,000 people, Ramadi had been controlled by Islamic State militants since May, and the site of fierce fighting the Islamisst fighters and Iraqi troops for months before. The Islamic State group has declared a self-styled caliphate on the territory under its control. But an Iraqi military commander, Brig.

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the US Central Command, congratulated Iraqi forces on the “important operational achievement”.

“We commend the Government of Iraq and the courageous Iraqi forces that are displaying tremendous perseverance and courage in this fight”, he said.

“This remains a long fight but the coalition’s strategy is succeeding”.

Meanwhile, in Syria, Kurdish resistance forces known as the YPG took control of much of northern Syria from the terror group, including Tel Abyad town some 50 miles from Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group. The ISF operations to reach the center of Ramadi are a significant milestone on the path to clear Da’esh from the historic city and the overall campaign to defeat the terrorist group across Iraq.

The militias were held back from the battlefield in Ramadi this time to avoid antagonising the mainly Sunni population.