Iraq security forces control 30 percent of Ramadi

Iraqi security forces are in control of as much as 30 percent of the city of Ramadi in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, says a senior official in the restive province, which is facing an offensive by Takfiri ISIL terrorists.

The president of Anbar Provincial Council, Sabah Karhoot, made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday.

The areas under government control “include al-Sajariyah, al-Sufiyah and areas near al-Mallab, which represent 30 percent of the city of Ramadi,” he added.

ISIL Takfiris have recently taken over parts of Ramadi.

Popular Mobilization forces have been deployed to the city to fight the Takfiris. The Shia volunteer forces, one of the volunteer groups who have joined the Iraqi army, were dispatched to Anbar after Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on them to join the fight to drive Takfiri militants out of Ramadi.

“The arrival of al-Hashed al-Sha’bi (Popular Mobilization) brigades in Anbar” has caused a deep-seated fear in the ranks of the Takfiri group, Karhoot said.

The Anbar Provincial Council released a statement late on Monday, saying that the Popular Mobilization forces, who have come from Babil Province, are stationed “in the al-Habaniyah military base, located 30 km east of Ramadi,” online newspaper Iraqi News reported.

The United Nations said on Monday that ISIL’s recent attacks on Ramadi have forced approximately 25,000 people to flee the city, adding that most people escaping the Takfiri group’s brutalities are heading toward Baghdad.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been in chaos since ISIL started its campaign of terror in early June 2014. Since then, Iraq’s army has been joined by Kurdish forces, as well as Shia and Sunni volunteers in operations to drive the ISIL terrorists out of the areas they have seized.