The push to retake the capital of Iraq’s western province of Anbar was launched overnight on Tuesday, with Sabah al-Noman, spokesman of the Iraqi counter-terrorism service, saying, “The city will be cleared in the coming 72 hours,” AFP reported.
“We went into the center of Ramadi from several fronts and we began purging residential areas,” he added.
The country’s elite counter-terrorism force is leading the operation, which is also joined by the Shia-dominated Hashid al-Shaabi volunteer group of fighters.
Local media outlets reported that the beginning of the operation featured heavy confrontation between the armed forces and the terrorists in the south of the city, which resulted in a number of casualties from both sides.
In the northern parts of the city, 14 members of security forces and volunteer fighters lost their lives in a bomb blast carried out by the Takfiri militants. At least six Daesh members were killed during clashes with Iraqi armed units.
Earlier, Iraqi security forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization units, made advances on the outskirts of Ramadi, liberating a number of neighborhoods and flushing out terrorists from the areas.
Iraqi military planes dropped leaflets in Ramadi on Sunday, urging residents to leave the city within the next three days.
Ramadi’s potential recapture would be among Baghdad’s most important gains against the Takfiri terrorist group, which started its terror activities in the country in June 2014.
Iraq forces liberate more districts in Ramadi
The Iraqi military and volunteer fighters have liberated more neighborhoods from the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the city of Ramadi, Anbar Province.
Iraq’s Summeriya news channel said on Tuesday that the forces carried out successive rounds of shelling against the positions of Daesh in the central district of al-Zobbat.
The report said Zabat is currently under full control of the Iraqi forces and a mop-up operation has been launched to chase the militants hiding in residential buildings.
Iraqi forces also advanced in southern Ramadi, retaking the district of al-Bakr. The Iraqi flag was then hoisted on a building in the area, which is near the compound of Ramadi’s governing council, Summeriya said.
Daesh militants also suffered a major setback in Husaybah, on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi, with a commander of the Iraqi quick reaction forces, identified as Mohammad Ismaeil, saying that over a dozen terrorists were killed in an operation there.
Iraqi military sources also said that they had liberated the al-Jarayeshi neighborhood in northern Ramadi, saying at least nine Daesh militants were killed in the operation in the area.
Iraq’s al-Forat agency also said that the military and pro-government forces had managed to push back terrorists from the districts of al-Aramel and al-Davajen south of Ramadi.
Other reports said Iraqi police forces also began to contribute to the Ramadi operation with a unit of Anbar’s police forces reportedly crossing from the 60th Street of Ramadi and entering the city’s central parts. The presence of police troops will help the allied military and volunteer fighters to cement their control over the areas they recapture from Daesh militants, a source in Anbar’s police said.
The advances came hours after Sabah al-Noman, a spokesman for the Iraqi counter-terrorism service, said Ramadi “will be cleared in the coming 72 hours.”
“We went into the center of Ramadi from several fronts and we began purging residential areas,” Noman said.
On December 20, Iraqi military planes dropped leaflets in Ramadi urging residents to evacuate within the next three days in a bid to prepare the ground for a final push against terrorists.
Daesh started its terror activities in Iraq in June 2014.
source : abna24
