ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi security forces declared Anbar's Dulab town liberated from the Islamic State on Monday.
“On Monday, the Iraqi [security] forces liberated Dulab town in the western side of Anbar province and we hung the Iraqi flag from the town’s buildings,” Raji Barakat Issa, head of the security committee in the Anbar Provincial Council, told Rudaw by phone.
"The security forces are now clearing the town of bombs and booby-traps laid by ISIS upon their retreat," Issa added.
Given its importance strategically, he explained that liberating Dulab paves the way for pushing the group out of Anbar province completely.
There are a few places still under the control of ISIS in the province, including Rawa and Ana, and “after Dulab operations, they will be liberated soon.”
Issa stressed that the military operations against ISIS are unstoppable “until we liberate the last span of the province’s territory.”
This military development against ISIS comes at a time when the Iraqi army is locked in intense battles against ISIS in the group’s stronghold of Qayara, in southern Mosul.
The Iraqi army launched a multi-pronged assault on ISIS positions in the contested town of Qayara early this morning, starting with Osaja village which is considered the group’s main position in the area.
Rudaw correspondent Hevidar Ahmed at the scene confirmed that, “Once the Osaja village is liberated by the Iraqi forces, they will be able to reach Qayara bridge.”
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