Iraqi army retakes Ramadi from retreating ISIL

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited Ramadi Tuesday after government forces recaptured the government compound in the key western city.

In a speech broadcast on state television, Mr Abadi said: “2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh’s presence in Iraq will be terminated”, using an alternative name for the Islamic State (IS) group.

Abadi did not make it clear whether Mosul would be the next battle or whether Iraqi forces would seek to retake other towns and cities first.

Rasool described the victory as “epic“, and said that the Iraqi flag had been raised over a key government complex, according to the BBC.

“Then over the border in Iraq, in addition to Ramadi – which we have to remember ISIS only took in May this year – the extremists have been pushed out of several cities – Tikrit, Sinjar, Bayji – sometimes by security forces, sometimes by an array of ethnic or religious militias”.

To defeat ISIS in the long run, al-Abadi will have to convince Iraqi politicians to allow Sunni leaders more autonomy and a role in the government.

He said the U.S.-led coalition, which includes major European and Middle Eastern powers, had carried out more than 630 airstrikes in the area, provided training and advice to Iraqi units, and contributed specialized equipment to clear explosives. Soldiers could be seen slaughtering sheep in celebration near heavily damaged buildings. He said at its peak there were up to 1,000 IS fighters in Ramadi, and that only 150-250 remain.

Such a strategy would echo the US military’s “surge” campaign of 2006-2007, which relied on recruiting and arming Sunni tribal fighter against a precursor of Islamic State.

But while the airstrikes eventually helped flush out the militants, they smashed large parts of the city into rubble.

Fighters brandishing rifles danced in the Anbar provincial capital as top commanders paraded through the streets after recapturing the city lost to IS in May.

Nineveh is home to Iraq’s second city of Mosul, from which IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria more than a year and a half ago. Islamic State militants captured Ramadi in May.

The battle for Ramadi, which had proceeded in fits and starts since summer, was waged partly by Sunni tribesmen whom U.S. troops had trained to fight alongside the forces of the Shi’ite-dominated government. “But it gives you an indication that this area where Iraqi forces are very jubilant about re-taking is not completely under their control yet”.

“The continued progress of the Iraqi Security Forces in the fight to retake Ramadi is a testament to their courage and determination, and our shared commitment to push ISIL out of its safe-havens”, said the statement.