Iraqi troops' advance in IS-held Ramadi slowed by bombs, snipers
Xinhua, December 25, 2015 Adjust font size:
Iraqi security forces on Thursday slowed their advance in the city of Ramadi after being hampered by snipers, suicide bombers and bombs planted by the Islamic State (IS) militants, a security source said.
The troops backed by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft, repelled an attack by IS militants on a military base in Anbar University in southern Anbar's provincial capital city of Ramadi, which located some 110 km west of Baghdad, leaving at least eight militants killed by the clashes, while the international warplanes bombarded three suicide truck bombs before reaching their targets in the battlefield, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The troops over the day slowed their advance because they focused on fighting IS snipers and fortifying their positions, while explosive experts were defusing dozens of roadside bombs and booby-trapped vehicles and buildings, the source said.
Meanwhile, some 50 families, most of them were women and children, who had been trapped in the battleground city, managed to reach safe areas under control of security forces, the source added.
On Tuesday, Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced in a statement that the security forces launched a major offensive to complete the capture of Ramadi and managed to seize the districts of al-Bakr, Dhubbat and Aramel, in southwestern part of the city after fierce clashes with IS militants.
On Saturday, Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi said "Iraqi forces are close to free Ramadi" and pledged that "during the next days, Iraqi forces will free the IS-held territories in the provinces of Anbar, as well as Salahudin and Nineveh."
The latest offensive came as the security forces have recently made significant advance in Ta'mim district in southern Ramadi and several areas on the edges of the city as part of their efforts to flush out the IS militants from Ramadi.
The troops have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Iraq's largest province of Anbar from the IS militants, who have seized most of Anbar and tried to advance towards Baghdad. Endit