Ramadi Freed

From the BBC:

"Iraqi forces 'retake Islamic State Ramadi stronghold'"

 

Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said. The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said. He said this heralded the defeat of IS in the city, although he admitted there could be pockets of resistance. The government has been trying to retake Ramadi for weeks. The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.  In recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way. After sniper fire from the compound stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity, Iraqi soldiers moved in.  The military spokesman, Sabah al-Numani, told Reuters: "The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of [IS] fighters in the complex. "By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi. The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."  Controlling this compound is key to retaking Ramadi. Iraqi soldiers are slowly clearing it as they fear it may have been rigged to explode. Troops are also busy in the surrounding neighbourhood, where pockets of resistance remain. The authorities will hail this week's offensive as a success - in stark contrast with the security forces' hasty retreat from Ramadi last May. However, it took months to mount this ground campaign, in co-ordination with coalition air strikes. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the army would soon move to retake the northern city of Mosul - and that will be the biggest prize. But it is the largest population centre under the control of IS in Iraq, and the battle there will be much tougher.  There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at around 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.

 

 

^ It's about time the Iraqis started winning something by themselves. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35186105