ISIS counterattacks after Iraqi forces recapture Ramadi

On Monday, the Iraqi Joint Operation Command officially declared victory a day after the Iraqi forces raised the Iraqi flag on the provincial government complex of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, but Anbar’s provincial capital has not yet been fully secured.

“They are clearing several other neighbourhoods”, he said.

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.

But with many western and northern areas still held by Islamic State, the authorities have not made clear what path they intend to take to Mosul, 400 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad.

As government forces mounted their final assault to retake the key city – controlled by the Sunni terror group since May – ISIS began to pull families out of their homes and move them to the eastern part of the city.

This time, although U.S.-trained Sunni fighters are now moving into Ramadi to stabilize the area, the Iraqi army was largely alone on the ground.

“It’s tough to determine the current enemy head count remaining in downtown Ramadi at this point, given the dynamic nature of the last few weeks”, said Col. Steve Warren, the USA military spokesman in Baghdad, in an email. “It’s going to take more training, it’s going to take more equipment and it’s going to take patience”.

The liberation of Ramadi, which took eight months and was preceded by two failed attempts, appears to vindicate the prime minister’s strategy. The Iraqis believe they are being used as human shields.

But during the live coverage, explosions and gunfire could be still be heard in the background.

An elite British SAS sniper killed three ISIS militants through a 10-inch wall from more than a kilometre away. He said his family had hated living under the militants.

The 30-strong coalition “strike cell” is led by a Royal Artillery major and it co-ordinates air strikes and rocket artillery bombardments against ISIS targets. Most regional and world powers have joined the battle against them, often backing rival groups in complex, multisided civil wars in both Iraq and Syria that make it hard to achieve worldwide unity. “We had to pick out the bugs before kneading and eating it”, she said.