News / Iraq / News

Another district liberated in Iraq’s Ramadi

Saturday, 26 December 2015 4:06 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 26 December 2015 5:50 PM ]

Iraqi forces drive down a street in the Zobbat neighborhood of Ramadi, Anbar Province, December 25, 2015. (AFP photo)

Iraq’s military and volunteer fighters have liberated another district in Ramadi, Anbar Province, as the campaign against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists picks up pace.

Iraq’s Summeriyah news channel said on Saturday that the Iraqi forces seized full control over the Zaviyah neighborhood north of the city, which has become a flash point as battle has intensified between Iraqi forces and terrorists over the past few months.

“The district is cleared from Daesh elements, but there are still bombs and booby traps remaining intact,” Major General Ismail al-Mahlawi, the commander of the Anbar Operation, said, adding that experts with the engineering unit of the army have already began demining streets and houses of Zaviyah.

The advance came just hours after the military and pro-government forces pushed their way into the Hoz neighborhood of Ramadi.

The latest round of operations for Ramadi began on December 22.

Reports say the Iraqi forces are now only 800 meters (about half a mile) from the main government complex of Ramadi.

Military sources have declined to give a time frame for the final push to drive back militants from Ramadi, saying the campaign’s priority is to avoid casualties among civilians and the troops, no matter how long it takes.

The recapture of Ramadi, which was overrun by Daesh back in May, would represent one of the most significant victories achieved by the Iraqi military since Daesh started its acts of terror in the country in June 2014.

The Iraqi army subsequently plans to go for liberating Mosul, the major northern city that has been under the control of terrorists for over a year now.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk