Iraqi Troops Make Fresh Gains Against IS Group in Ramadi

Gen. Yahya Rasool initially announced that Ramadi had been “grabbed from the hateful claws” of ISIS.

Iraq’s government has long said that raising the Iraqi flag would be the official indicator that the Anbar provincial capital had fallen to its forces. After Iraqi forces pulled out of the city in the spring, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned whether the Iraqis had the “will to fight”.

The senior security official said Iraqi forces were facing no resistance from ISIS militants, who had few snipers left in the city center.

Members of Iraq’s counterterrorism service in the Hoz neighborhood in central Ramadi on Sunday during military operations conducted by Iraqi pro-government forces against Islamic State.

“Daesh has planted more than 300 explosive devices on the roads and in the buildings of the government complex”, said Brigadier General Majid al-Fatlawi of the army’s 8th division.

In previous battles, including the recapture of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s home city Tirkit in April, the Iraqi government relied on Iran-backed Shi’ite militias for ground fighting, with its own army in a supporting role.

Iraqi troops will “need days” to get to the city’s central government complex, said al-Mahlawi, adding that the troops were about one kilometer (half a mile) from the complex on Sunday. Iraqi forces entered the Huz at dawn, an area housing a government compo… The strikes Saturday destroyed vehicles operated by the militants, along with a factory used to make vehicle-borne suicide bombs and two houses that were rigged with explosives, according to statements released by the U.S.-led coalition.

Government forces held off months of IS assaults in Ramadi until May 2015, when the jihadists blitzed them with massive suicide auto bombs and seized full control of the city.

“We expect to reach the compound in the next 24 hours, ” said Mr Numani.

The death tolls for the battle are not out yet but the government said most civilians were able to evacuate before the assault began.

A US-led coalition is waging an air campaign against Isis, but rebuilding the Iraqi army to the point that it could recapture and hold territory has been one of the biggest challenges.

The troops have been fighting for months to retake key cities and towns in Anbar, Iraq’s largest province, from IS militants who have seized most of Anbar and tried to advance towards Baghdad.

After Ramadi, the army plans to move to retake the northern city of Mosul, the biggest population centre under Islamic State control in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to counter ISIS, said Sunday that the coalition was “proud” to have been of help.