Calm prevails after Iraq troops routed IS from Ramadi center

Military sources told the Reuters news agency that Abadi arrived by helicopter with the province’s top military commander at the Anbar University complex in the city’s southern outskirts and was scheduled to meet with army and counter-terrorism commanders.

A member of the Iraqi security forces holds an Iraqi flag at a government complex in the city of Ramadi on Monday.

“The military will be carrying out mopping-up operations in Ramadi and moving to other areas to liberate them and recapture them from the terrorists”, Anbar police spokesman Yasser al-Dulaimi said.

But there were still pockets of ISIL resistance in and around the city, the army said. Fighters from the Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS or ISIL, fled the city’s government headquarters, the last major redoubt in Ramadi, around midday on Monday.

The more than 8,000 Sunni tribal fighters recruited to join Iraq’s security forces largely did not participate in the battle to retake Ramadi from Islamic State militants, but they will be integral in holding and stabilizing the city as it rebuilds, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The army’s apparent capture of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of Baghdad, marks a major milestone for US-trained forces who crumbled when Islamic State fighters charged into Iraq in June 2014.

“Ramadi has become a strategic location in the minds of people. but we’ve seen the town change hands from Iraqis to IS before and now we’re seeing it in the hands of the Iraqi military again”.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi delivered a speech in which he hailed the advance, saying it had killed “hundreds” of militants and “fulfilled the promise to defeat Daesh in Ramadi”, referring to the IS group by its Arabic acronym.

“These gains attest to the growing confidence and capability of Iraqi forces who are fighting bravely against a ruthless adversary employing suicide bombers, snipers and improvised explosive devices”, he added.

The security forces have recently made significant advance in Ta’mim district in southern Ramadi and several areas on the edges of the city, as part of their efforts to wipe out IS elements from Ramadi. Combing operations are underway to check for booby traps and flush out the remaining militants from the city. The two months it took to carry out the offensive allowed time for U.S.-led airstrikes to soften Islamic State targets and for many civilians to escape to safety. “The clearance of the government centre is a significant accomplishment and is the result of many months of hard work”, Warren said in a statement.