Iraqi security forces gain ground near Ramadi

The Iraqi security forces fought fierce clashes with Islamic State (IS) militants and retook control of an area near the city of Ramadi, while the troops repelled five suicide car bombs in the province, provincial security sources said on Saturday.

The troops and allied paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters backed by Iraqi and U.S-led coalition aircraft had recaptured al-Hamdhiyah area, just east of Ramadi, and raised the Iraqi flag on some buildings after fierce clashes with IS militants, a provincial source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

On Feb. 9, the Iraqi military announced the liberation of the areas in eastern Ramadi, as the troops had launched a major offensive to flush out IS militants from Ramadi and declared a victory on Dec. 28 when the troops captured the city, raising the Iraqi flag on the government complex there.

Meanwhile, the troops repelled IS attack with four suicide car bomb on security positions near the town of Ameriyat al-Fallujah, some 40 km west of Baghdad, destroying the four car bombs with anti-tank guided missiles and air strikes of international warplanes, another provincial source anonymously told Xinhua.

Hours later, another IS attack targeted Ameriyat al-Fallujah, when a suicide bomber rammed his booby-trapped military Humvee into the security positions outside the town and detonated it, leaving 13 security members killed, the source said.

Government troops and allied militias have been fighting for months to retake control of 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