Source: Iraqi Forces Take Control of 60 Percent of Ramadi City

“60 percent of Ramadi is now under the control of the Iraqi forces and it has been purged of Takfiri terrorists,” Raje Barakat, member of Anbar governor office’s security committee, said.

He reiterated that dozens of militants have been killed in the Iraqi forces’ operations.

Barakat said that the Iraqi forces are advancing in Ramadi city from several directions and the ISIL has come under their siege in the city center.

Meantime, Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi announced that the Iraqi forces are close to taking full control of Ramadi city.

“Losing Ramadi city was a heavy defeat to ISIL, but we have managed to change the balance of power in the city and seizing Ramadi will be a fundamental change,” Obeidi added.

On Wednesday, military sources announced that the Iraqi Army and the country’s popular forces were planning to start the last phase of their large-scale operation to liberate Ramadi city from the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

“Ramadi is to be stormed in the upcoming days,” sources said.

“The commanders of the Iraqi army troops and the popular forces operating in the Ramadi battlefield have held several joint meetings in Anbar province to coordinate each others’ duties and missions in the final phase of liberating operation of the city,” the sources said.

“The army commander vowed to do their best to have a rapid access to the defense lines of the ISIL with the lowest possible casualties,” they added.

“The popular forces also are recruiting fresh fighters from the nearby villages and towns,” the sources went on to say.

On November 17, the Iraqi security forces crossed the Euphrates River, for the first time since the ISIL terrorists captured Ramadi city, advancing towards the center of the city.

The Iraqi forces also regained control of several government buildings and institutions in Ramadi.

The Iraqi forces also managed to raise the Iraqi flag over the city’s liberated areas after 4 days of intensified airstrikes on ISIL positions in Ramadi.