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Fighting with IS continues near Iraq's Ramadi after liberation

Xinhua, January 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces on Sunday continued fighting the Islamic State (IS) and cleared new areas in the city of Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar.

Fierce clashes erupted in the morning as Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters launched an operation to flush out IS militants from Soufiyah district in the eastern part of Ramadi, some 110 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killing at least 22 militants, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber attacked the security forces near the government complex in the center of Ramadi, killing nine security members and wounding 12 others, the source said.

Also in Ramadi, a booby-trapped house was detonated during a search operation in the battlefield district of al-Mal'ab in the east, leaving 10 security members dead and six others wounded, the source said, adding the troops took control of the district.

Iraqi forces captured downtown Ramadi from the IS on Dec. 28, but other parts of the city are yet to be fully secured due to a large numbers of bombs planted by the IS.

Also on Sunday, Iraqi and U.S.-led aircraft carried out airstrikes on IS positions in Mudhiej area east of Ramadi, killing at least 13 militants, the source added.

Meantime, air strikes and heavy clashes with IS militants continued near the town of Barwana, some 190 km west of Baghdad, as the security forces recaptured all the areas at the edge of the town. Dozens of IS militants were killed, the source said without giving further details.

During the past few days, Barwana was the scene of a series of attacks by IS militants which were repelled by security forces and local Sunni tribal fighters, with the support from the air.

In Salahudin province, an unmanned Iraqi plane mistakenly bombed a Shiite paramilitary unit, known as Hashd Shaabi, at al-Salam village north of the provincial capital city Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad. Nine members of the unit were killed and 13 others injured, the provincial operations command said in a statement. Endit