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Security forces recover more ground of Iraq's key city of Ramadi from IS

Xinhua, February 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces on Monday recaptured a new district from Islamic State (IS) militants in eastern the flashpoint city of Ramadi, the capital city of Iraq's western Anbar province, a provincial security source said.

The troops and allied paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters swept Juwiba district and raised the Iraqi flag on the buildings after fierce clashes with IS militants, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The clashes resulted in the killing of at least 25 IS militants and the destruction of six of their vehicles, while eight security members were killed and five others injured, the source said.

During the battle, the troops evacuated dozens of families and individual civilians who fled their homes and resorted to the security forces, the source said, adding that the civilians were later transferred to camps in the town of Habbaniyah, some 80 km west of Baghdad.

The latest extension of the security forces in Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, came as the troops continued their clearing operations in the eastern part of the city, as the extremist militants densely planted bombs in buildings, whilst clashes continued against small groups of IS militants who are using the buildings as hideouts, the source said.

Also in the province, U.S.-led coalition warplanes bombarded late on Sunday night an IS headquarters in Albu-Bali area near Habbaniyah, killing an IS local leader and six of his aides, the source added.

Security forces captured downtown Ramadi from IS group late last year, raising the Iraqi flag on the government complex there, but small parts of the city has not yet been fully secured due to a large numbers of bombs planted by the IS and because the troops wanted to avoid casualties among civilians.

Government troops and allied militias have also been fighting for months to take back other key cities and towns in Anbar, Iraq's largest province, from IS militants, who previously seized most of Anbar and tried to advance toward Baghdad. Endit