Iraq forces pounding Daesh around Ramadi

Iraq's army and allied paramilitaries attacked Daesh group positions around Ramadi Tuesday in their latest push to recapture the Anbar capital from the jihadists, commanders said.

The authorities announced a major offensive to "liberate Anbar" on Monday, hours after the US-led coalition launched a record number of air strikes near Ramadi.

"The Iraqi army and the Hashed al-Shaabi are pounding Daesh positions with rockets and mortar rounds east, west and south of Ramadi," a senior army officer said.

Ramadi is the capital of Anbar, a vast Sunni province which is largely under Daesh control. It is traversed by the Euphrates and stretches from the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the outskirts of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces had resisted Daesh attacks for almost a year and half when they retreated in the face of a spectacular onslaught in mid-May, in a huge blow to the government.

The government had to call in the Hashed, an umbrella organisation whose main components are Tehran-backed Shiite militias, to supplement its own underperforming forces.

Operations have been on ongoing across Anbar for months, and Iraqi forces have recently attempted to sever Daesh supply lines by moving in from provinces, including Salaheddin to the northeast.

Officers said advances achieved on Monday would further isolate Fallujah, which lies about half way between Ramadi and Baghdad, and allow anti-Daesh forces to better organise supplies and reinforcements.

Top commanders have admitted, however, that entering Ramadi and Fallujah, where US forces faced their toughest battles during their eight-year occupation of Iraq, would be difficult.

A senior officer in the police, which in Iraq takes part in military operations, said Iraqi units were currently advancing on Ramadi from three main axes.

The US-led coalition said it had carried out 29 air strikes against Daesh targets in the Ramadi region on Sunday, an unusually high number for a single area on a single day.
Source: AFP