Iraqi forces recapture new area in IS-held Ramadi

Iraqi security forces on Tuesday retook control of the glass factory area on the western edge of Anbar province's capital city Ramadi, killing at least 17 Islamic State (IS) militants, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

The glass factory is a strategic site as its buildings and high towers overlook the adjacent al-Ta'mim district in the western part of the city which located some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the source added.

The latest advance in Ramadi came a day after the Iraqi military command called on families in Ramadi to leave city from Himairiyah area in the southern are, but the extremist militants have been preventing civilians from leaving Ramadi and other IS-held cities and towns in order to use them as human shields against possible attacks. Many have managed to escape however, despite the IS threat to execute them.

Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi paramilitary units have recently recaptured several areas on the edges of Ramadi as part of their operations to flush out IS militants from the city.

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