Iraqi troops advance in Ramadi, pockets of IS remains

In addition to lifting the morale of Iraq’s security forces, the Ramadi victory should enhance the political standing of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Shiite leader who has been more moderate and reform-minded than his pro-Iran political rivals, who have fueled sectarian violence for years.

Over the weekend, al-Abadi had vowed that 2016 would be the year of “final victory” against Daesh in Iraq, saying the next battle against the militant group would be in Mosul, Daesh’s stronghold.

The government has said the next target after Ramadi will be the northern city of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the largest population center controlled by ISIL militants in either Iraq or Syria.

However, while government troops danced in the battle-scarred streets, and state television showed celebrations in Baghdad and elsewhere, there were concerns that it was not quite the showcase triumph it seemed.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi said Tuesday that 80 percent of Ramadi was destroyed in the clashes between Iraqi forces and Daesh.

Iraqi and US officials have said pockets of insurgents held up in the city and its outskirts still needed to be cleared.

The United States and its coalition partners had supported the operation with more than 630 air strikes and training and equipment, a White House official said.

“Coupled with other recent ISIL losses across Iraq and Syria… the seizure of the Government Center clearly demonstrates that the enemy is losing momentum as they steadily cede territory”, he said in a statement, using an acronym for the IS group. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the global coalition backing Baghdad, said casualties to Iraqi forces during the battle were in the low double digits.

The army’s apparent capture of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of Baghdad, marks a milestone for the forces which crumbled when the hardline Sunni Muslim militants seized a third of Iraq in June 2014. They have said most residents were evacuated before the assault.

“We will continue to support the government of Iraq as it re-establishes the security, governance and services the people of Ramadi will need as they return to their city”.

Abadi’s government plans to hand over Ramadi to local police and a Sunni tribal force once it is secured, to encourage Sunnis to resist Islamic State.

We have trained hundreds of tribal fighters. Anbar, including Ramadi, was a major focus of that campaign at the height of the 2003-2011 USA war in Iraq.