Iraqi troops enter centre of Ramadi in bid to eject Isis

Iraq’s armed forces have stormed the centre of Ramadi to try to dislodge Islamic State militants who have held the western city since May.

The operation to recapture Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, began in November after many months of attempting to cut off supply lines to the city, whose fall to Isis was a major defeat for Iraq’s weak central government.

“Our forces are advancing toward the government complex in the centre of Ramadi,” an Iraqi military spokesman, Sabah al-Numan, said. “The fighting is in the neighbourhoods around the complex, with support from the air force.”