Iraqi forces on Sunday took control of the government complex in central Ramadi, the last Islamic State stronghold in the western city, a military spokesman said.
“By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi,” said Sabah al-Numani, a spokesman for the force leading the fight on the government side.
“The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city.”
“The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of Daesh fighters in the complex,” he told Reuters, using a derogatory Arabic acronym of Islamic State.
Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most significant victories for Iraq’s armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014.
Army spokesmen said Iraqi troops were getting ready on Sunday for a final push to take the remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi.
Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the militants in May, would be one of the most significant victories for Iraq’s armed forces since Islamic State swept across a third of the country in 2014.
The soldiers are within 300 meters (330 yards) of the provincial government compound, the target of the attack they launched on Tuesday, Sabah al-Numani, a spokesperson for the counter-terrorism force that is leading the fight on the government side, said.
“We expect to reach the compound in the next 24 hours,” he told Reuters. “Booby trapped houses and roadside bombs are all over the streets, they have to be cleared; air surveillance is helping detect car bombs and suicide bombers before they get to us.”
Ramadi is the capital of the mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province in the fertile Euphrates River valley, just two hours drive west of Baghdad.
