ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A day after the US military command reported that no progress had been made in the battle for Ramadi, the Iraqi security reported Saturday that they attacked Islamist militants in the city and recaptured one police station, inflicting heavy damages on the militants.
“On Saturday, Iraqi security forces launched an assault on ISIS militants in the neighborhood of Albu Zayab northern Ramadi, killing many militants and driving them out of the area,” a Ramadi security official told Rudaw.
The officer added that five ISIS militants were killed in the operation.
“The security forces have made good advances in northern Ramadi, inflicting heavy casualties from the extremist group,” he added.
The US central command (CENTCOM) acknowledged on Friday that the Iraqi army had made no progress in retaking Ramadi despite heavy concentration of troops around the city.
“In terms of the Iraqis around Ramadi, again, we've seen them taking their positions and -- and preparing for seizure operations, but in terms of why they have not moved, that's a question that we're discussing with Iraqis, again, encouraging them to move as quickly as possible, to move in on ISIL and take the city,” CENTCOM Spokesperson Col. Pat Ryder told reporters in the Pentagon.
The Ramadi security official said that heavy bombing by Iraqi fighter jets were instrumental in destroying ISIS positions and their weapons and armory destroyed in the city.
Iraqi troops lost Ramadi in the country’s west to ISIS militants after two days of heavy fighting in May.
The Defense Ministry announced in July an operation for the recapture of the city by deploying to the region thousands of police officers and Shiite militiamen to fight alongside the army.
The security official in Ramadi said that government forces need better communication with all parties involved in the war, including local tribal forces.
“We had better communicate with the people that are truly working side by side,” he said. “A step forward is much better than a step backward.”
