Iraq forces regain control of villages in Anbar

The Iraqi army has liberated seven villages in Anbar Province close to the border with Syria from Daesh control.

The gains, which were announced on Friday, were achieved during a push underway to flush the terrorists out of the towns of Rawa, Aanah and al-Qaim, the last main populated areas held by Daesh in the western province, AFP reported.

“Our military units liberated seven villages from Daesh control between the town of Haditha and the town of Aanah,” said Staff Major General Qassem al-Mohammadi.

Staff Major General Noman Abed al-Zobai, the commander of the Army’s 7th Division, also said the troops had reached the outskirts of al-Sagra, an area southeast of Aanah.

Iraqi forces have already liberated the key cities of Ramadi, the provincial capital, Fallujah, and Hit in the province. Ramadi’s liberation collided head-on with Daesh’s come-what-may terror drive against the country, which it had launched in 2014.

On October 17, 2016, joint Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake the northern city of Mosul, which fell to Daesh in 2014.

The advance has, however, been slowed down due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom are being prevented by the terrorists from leaving the city, the last Daesh stronghold in Iraq.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said it could take the country three months to vanquish the terrorists.