Iraqi Forces Make Steady Progress against Militants in Anbar

Security forces took control on Tuesday of several Ramadi neighborhoods after days of heavy clashes in the city, army chief Staff General Ali Ghaidan Majeed said.

The defense ministry announced on Saturday that warplanes and artillery had hit a neighborhood of northern Fallujah, a rare military operation inside the city itself.

A security official told media outlets that an assault on the city was imminent, but a journalist in Fallujah said it was mostly calm on Monday.

The army has largely stayed out of Fallujah, a short drive from Baghdad, fearing major incursions could ignite a drawn-out campaign with high civilian casualties and heavy damage to property.

US battles in the city, a bastion of militants following the 2003 US-led invasion, were among their bloodiest since the Vietnam War.

Along with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, other militant groups and anti-government tribes have fought forces loyal to the central government.

The stand-off has prompted more than 140,000 people to flee their homes, the UN refugee agency said, describing it as the worst displacement in Iraq since the peak of the sectarian conflict.