ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militias say joint Iraqi forces are in the final stages of preparations to launch a final offensive against Islamic State positions in Anbar province. Karim Nouri, a spokesperson of the group, said Shiite and government forces will continue their joint operation to push back militants who captured large swaths of central Iraq beginning last year, including the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi. More than 10,000 armed forces members took part in July operations to retake the Sunni province amid an escalating refugee crisis as thousands of families migrated towards Kurdish borders in the north fearing Shiite retaliation. “Security forces are in full control of almost all key roads to the city of Ramadi,” Nouri told Rudaw, adding that ISIS militants were on the defensive and had retreated from vast areas without major clashes. Despite Nouri’s claims, Iraqi forces have made multiple attempts to retake Ramadi since it was taken by ISIS in May, with little discernible success.
