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Iraq cleansing northern Ramadi of Daesh terrorists

Saturday, 02 January 2016 6:41 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 January 2016 7:06 PM ]

The photo shows Iraqi forces during a clean-up operation in Ramadi, Anbar Province, January 1, 2016. (AFP Photo)

Iraq’s military is engaged in a clean-up operation in northern Ramadi, Anbar Province, to rid the city of the remaining terrorists of the Daesh Takfiri group.

Ahmad Abdel Madjid, an Iraqi army officer, said Saturday that militants trapped in the area “are afraid of clashes with the security forces” because they now have learned of their experience with previous battles with Iraqi forces.

Ramadi became a flash point after the Iraqi military started the campaign to liberate the strategic city a few months ago.

In the opinion of another Iraqi soldier, the army is making good progress against Daesh and the Iraqi forces morale is high.

The Iraqi army announced they were in full control of Ramadi on December 28. Portions of the city, however, remain to be cleansed of terrorists. Iraqi Defense Ministry officials have said it will take more time for the clean-up to be accomplished.

The city is located about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the capital, Baghdad.

Several Iraqi families, including groups of men, women and children, some of them disabled or elderly, who were being used as human shields by the terrorists, have been evacuated by the Iraqi military.

“Currently, the forces of the anti-terrorism unit are inside a secured complex in the center of the city of Ramadi. We’ve freed more than 52 families who were used as human shields by the gangs of Daesh and we gave them first aid and food,” said Major Salam Hussein, an official from the Iraqi counter-terrorism unit.

Iraqi security forces gather near a temporary bridge built by the corps of engineers in the Iraqi army south of Ramadi, Anbar Province, during a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on December 29, 2015, after government forces recaptured the city from the Daesh Takfiri group. (AFP Photo)

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi toured Ramadi following its liberation. He said the recapture of the strategic city would pave the way for Iraq’s long-anticipated offensive into the main city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh Province in the north, which has been under the control of Daesh since the summer of 2014. Abadi said 2016 would be the last year for Daesh in Iraq.

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