Iraqi forces recapture university buildings in IS-held Ramadi

Iraqi security forces on Sunday retook control of Anbar University buildings at the western edge of the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province after fierce clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants, spokesman said.

"The anti-terrorism forces at dawn entered Anbar University and are now fighting to clear it from remnant of Daash (IS group) terrorists, defuse bombs and open roads, and are advancing toward Ta'mim district (in southern Ramadi)," Brigadier General Yahyah Rasoul Abdullah, spokesman of joint operations command, said in a statement.

Abdullah said the Iraqi forces and paramilitary allied militias known as Hashd Shaabi, or popular mobilization, are pushing from four directions to enter Ramadi, which located some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

On July 13, the Iraqi authorities announced the start of a major offensive against IS militants to free key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province of Anbar province from IS militants.

Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary militias have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province of Anbar since the IS militants seized most of it and tried to advance toward capital Baghdad, but several counter attacks by security forces and Shiite militias have pushed them back. Endit