Security forces continue fighting IS in Iraq’s Anbar

He said the 10 vehicles targeted the Iraqi army’s 10th Division base northeast of Ramadi.

The attack comes only days after the Iraqi army recaptured the city from the hands of the militant group.

Eed Amash, spokesman of Anbar Governing Council, told NBC News that officials predicted they would find more mass graves from the newly liberated city.

Osej said. “All water, electricity, sewage and other infrastructure such as bridges, government facilities, hospitals and schools have suffered some degree of damage”.

As for the potential “pockets” of ISIS fighters still in and around Ramadi, the Iraq government and its forces seem generally confident that they don’t pose any significant threat to retaking the city. She said he managed to save them from being among the families that were taken to the east of the city and used as human shields.

If that’s true, and if the Iraqis can replicate this success in tougher tests to come in Iraqi cities such as Fallujah and Mosul, it could vindicate President Obama’s stubborn insistence on letting local forces take the lead against ISIL while USA forces stick largely to training and assistance.

Iraq’s army recently declared victory over ISIS on December 28, the first major triumph for the US-trained force since it collapsed 18 months ago. During his visit to a military base in Jordan, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French air forces executed Friday air raids against oil facilities seized by IS in Syria near Raqqa, the stronghold of the militant group. “I think majority do not agree with ISIS ideologically or as a political group or Islamic Caliphate”.

Using an M1 Abrams American third-generation main battle tank, the footage shows Iraqi soldiers identifying their target, honing in and firing a precision shot that blows the threat sky-high in a cloud of dense dust. “They (ISIL) tried to stop us and chased us but the Iraqi forces arrived”, she said.

Police chief Hadi Irzayij said security forces had detained 30 suspected IS fighters “who were attempting to flee Ramadi by blending in with civilians”.

Efforts to expel ISIS are expected to take weeks, especially in light of the jihadists’ tactics of hiding among local populations and booby-trapping territory they abandon.