Iraq’s army declared victory over Islamic State (IS) group fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad
Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said
the capital of Anbar province, west of
the capital Baghdad, had been "fully
liberated" from IS militants and that
the Iraqi flag had been raised over
the government complex.
But another senior comander,
General Ismail al-Mahlawi, quickly
cautioned that parts of the city
remained under IS group control.
The jihadist fighters seized the city in
May after government troops fled in
a defeat which prompted Washington
to take a hard look at strategy in its
ongoing air war against the militants.
After encircling the city for weeks,
the Iraqi military launched a
campaign to retake it last week, and
made a final push to seize the
central administration complex on
Sunday.The US-led anti-IS coalition praised
the performance of the Iraqi forces in
retaking Ramadi, an operation in
which it played a significant role,
training local forces, arming them
and carrying out what it said were
600 air strikes since July.
French President François Hollande
called the liberation of Ramadi the
"most important victory yet" in the
fight against the jihadists.
State television broadcast footage of
troops, Humvee vehicles and tanks
advancing through Ramadi streets
amid piles of rubble and collapsed
houses. Some districts appeared to
have been completely destroyed by
the advance.
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