Iraqi Forces Push to Regain Ramadi from IS

Posted by African Examiner Asia, Latest Headlines, World News Sunday, December 27th, 2015

Iraqi military commanders say they have gained control of the main government compound in the contested city of Ramadi, and that engineers were still clearing the site of explosive devices left behind by fleeing Islamic State fighters.

By late Sunday, Iraqi forces were still hours or more away from declaring total victory, with the head of Iraqi military operations telling the Associated Press that the push for full control of the city was hampered by suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps. Commanders said IS extremists still controlled as much as three-quarters of the city as fighting progressed.

As dusk fell, it was not clear how many civilians remained in central Ramadi, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad. But an Iraqi spokesman earlier said that most residents had taken shelter at a nearby hospital.

There were no reliable casualty reports as fighting raged on Sunday. But medical sources in Baghdad told the French news agency that more than 90 Iraqi troops were wounded and hospitalized on Sunday alone.

VOA