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| Iraqi troops enter centre of Ramadi in bid to eject Isis | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Iraq’s armed forces have stormed the centre of Ramadi to try to dislodge Islamic State militants who have held the western city since May, a spokesman has said. | Iraq’s armed forces have stormed the centre of Ramadi to try to dislodge Islamic State militants who have held the western city since May, a spokesman has said. |
| The operation to recapture Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, began early last month after many months of attempting to cut off supply lines to the city, whose fall to Isis was a major defeat for Iraq’s weak central government. | |
| “Our forces are advancing toward the government complex in the centre of Ramadi,” the spokesman, Sabah al-Numan, said. “The fighting is in the neighbourhoods around the complex, with support from the air force.“ | “Our forces are advancing toward the government complex in the centre of Ramadi,” the spokesman, Sabah al-Numan, said. “The fighting is in the neighbourhoods around the complex, with support from the air force.“ |
| The offensive started at dawn, said al-Numan. Military units crossed the Euphrates river into the central districts using a bridge that was destroyed by the militants and repaired by army engineers, he said. | |
| “Crossing the river was the main difficulty,” al-Numan said. “We’re facing sniper fire and suicide bombers who are trying to slow our advance, we’re dealing with them with air force support.” | |
| Al-Numan said Iraqi forces were being forced to remove roadside bombs as they pushed forward. | |
| No paramilitary forces – mostly made up of pro-government Shia militias – are taking part in the operation, according to al-Numan, but the Iraqi air force and the US-led international coalition are providing air support to ground troops and bombing Isis targets. | |
| Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of Isis fighters entrenched in the centre of Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar province, at between 250 and 300. | Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of Isis fighters entrenched in the centre of Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar province, at between 250 and 300. |
| Retaking the city would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after Isis seized a third of Iraq last year. | Retaking the city would provide a major psychological boost to Iraqi security forces after Isis seized a third of Iraq last year. |