Iraqi PM vows defeat of IS after Ramadi recapture

On Monday, Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, drove IS militants out of the city center and raised the Iraqi flag over the government complex. A U.S. military commander had confirmed earlier that the raqi forces were poised to re ake the government complex before the close of the day on Monday.

“I think this fight shows the Iraqis are ready to fight and these calls for USA ground troops are not the best strategy moving forward”, said Ahmed Ali, a senior fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the American University of Iraq.

According to a U.S. summary of operations, coalition aircraft working with Iraqi forces struck several positions in the Ramadi area on Monday, including a “staging area” for Islamic State vehicle bombs.

Soldiers were shown on state television on Monday publicly slaughtering a sheep in an act of celebration. The main aim of the offensive was to liberate Ramadi, which has been occupied by Daesh militants since May. “There is no resistance from Daesh (IS)”, said Ibrahim al-Fahdawi, a security official from Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital. The spokesperson clarified that the forces had taken control of the government building but believed that parts of the city still remained under ISIS control.

“The clearance of the government center is a significant accomplishment and is the result of many months of hard work by the Iraqi Army, the counterterrorism service, the Iraqi Air Force, local and federal police, and tribal fighters”, Warren said. He said IS fighters still control 30 percent of Ramadi and that government forces do not fully control many districts from which IS fighters have retreated.

Fighters brandishing rifles danced in Ramadi as top commanders paraded through the streets after recapturing the city they lost to IS in May.

Iraqi troops remain on the outside of Fallujah, al Qaeda’s major stronghold during the Iraq War, and are waiting for USA coalition strikes to clear the area.

The Baghdad government says the next target after Ramadi is Mosul.

The city has suffered “huge devastation”, Al-Belawi said.

A U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US-led campaign against Islamic State was unable to confirm at this point whether the militants had been cleared out of the the government complex.

Authorities have not provided casualty figures from the fighting or Ramadi.

Following the announcement, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the victory, and pledged to end his country’s battle with the IS group, also known as Daesh, in the coming year.

Abadi also said “if 2015 was the year of liberation, by God willing 2015 would be the year of the final victory, and the year of ending the presence of Daaesh (IS in Arabic) on the land of Iraq”. It is imperative to state that the ISIS group still controls much of northern and Western Iraq.

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. It has declared a caliphate in the areas under its control and imposed a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law.