BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces on Tuesday reported some progress in the military operation to retake from the Islamic State group the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, saying they have made the most significant incursion into the city since it fell to the hands of the militants in May.
Losing Ramadi - the capital of the sprawling western Anbar province and Iraq's Sunni heartland - was a major blow to the Iraqi government in May this year. It was also the biggest defeat since IS militants swept through areas in the country's north and west, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul in the summer of 2014.
Iraqi forces announced a counteroffensive shortly afterward Mosul fell but progress has been sluggish and clawing territory back from the IS has proven more difficult than expected.
On Tuesday, Iraqi spokesman Sabah al-Numan said the troops crossed the Euphrates River north of the city and its Warar tributary to the west and pushed into downtown Ramadi.
Losing Ramadi - the capital of the sprawling western Anbar province and Iraq's Sunni heartland - was a major blow to the Iraqi government in May this year. It was also the biggest defeat since IS militants swept through areas in the country's north and west, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul in the summer of 2014.
Iraqi forces announced a counteroffensive shortly afterward Mosul fell but progress has been sluggish and clawing territory back from the IS has proven more difficult than expected.
On Tuesday, Iraqi spokesman Sabah al-Numan said the troops crossed the Euphrates River north of the city and its Warar tributary to the west and pushed into downtown Ramadi.
No comments:
Post a Comment