Iraqi troops battled on Thursday (December 24) to retake the city of Ramadi from the ISIS terrorist group.
Security forces began advancing on Tuesday (December 22) in an offensive complicated by rivalries and suspicions harbored by local Sunni tribes and by Shi’ite militia.
US officials, concerned also by militant operations over the border in Syria, have expressed frustration at delays in seizing back the city.
Footage showed Iraqi snipers and soldiers firing at various targets whilst taking cover inside damaged buildings. Black smoke could be seen rising above houses in the area.
Government troops are now concentrating on the last district held by the militants in the center of Ramadi, a Sunni Muslim city on the river Euphrates some 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad and capital of Anbar province.
If captured, it will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from ISIS terrorists in Iraq. It would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after the militant group seized a third of Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer, in a sweeping advance last year.
Progress has been slow because the government wants to rely entirely on its own troops.
However, Iraq’s army chief was quoted on Wednesday (December 24) as saying he needed only days to drive ISIS terrorists from the city; AP reported.
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