Iraqi forces fight IS in Anbar to reopen int'l road to Jordan

Iraqi security forces on Wednesday continued their fight against Islamic State (IS) militants to reopen the international road between Baghdad and Amman after liberating a town in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

The troops and allied paramilitary Sunni tribal units started their advance on the road in the early morning toward Trebil border crossing point with neighboring Jordan, the source said on condition of anonymity.

So far, the troops are advancing without clashes with the extremist militants who fled the scene, but are moving slowly as explosive experts are dealing with many roadside bombs planted by the militant group earlier, the source said.

The troops advance came after the security forces, backed international and Iraqi aircraft, freed the town of Rutba, some 370 km west of Iraqi capital Baghdad, on late Monday night after the IS militants who withdrew from the town, but planted many roadside bombs in its roads and booby-trapped many of its buildings, the source added.

On Monday, the security forces launched an offensive designed to free the small town of Rutba and to reopen the Baghdad-Amman international road.

Last December, government troops recovered Ramadi, the provincial capital of Iraq's largest province of Anbar.

Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary units have been battling IS militants for regain control of territories in northern and western Iraq that have been seized by the IS since June 2014. Endit