ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Islamic State fighters have blown up bridges to slow an Iraqi army advance into the center of Ramadi, an Iraqi commander said Saturday, as forces pushed in to liberate the city’s last district still held by ISIS. Brig. Gen. Sabah Azzawi, whose forces are involved in the fighting for the city that is the strategic capital of Iraq’s largest province, said that the militants were running out of ammunition, and resorting to booby traps and car bombings. "ISIS has bombed all bridges in Ramadi to sabotage our forces from advancing into the center of the city," he claimed, “but we managed to mend parts of the bridges." “They are using car bombs and booby traps," he said, promising that the city that ISIS has held since May is near liberation. Reuters quoted joint operations command spokesman Brigadier Yahya Rasool saying that soldiers advanced overnight in the Hoz neighborhood that houses the provincial government compound. "The counter-terrorism forces are within 800 meters (0.5 mile) from the government complex," advancing by about 1 km in the past day, Rasool said. "Air strikes helped detonate explosive devices and booby-trapped houses, facilitating our advance," he said. Special operation commander Sami al-Aridhi said the plan was "to liberate all of Ramadi from three sides". "Our troops are now advancing towards their targets but were delayed because the criminals have booby-trapped everything," Reuters quoted him a saying. According to US-led coalition spokesman Col. Steve Warren, Iraqi forces and Sunni tribal fighters began their entry into Ramadi on Tuesday.“The fall of Ramadi is inevitable. You know, the end is coming,” he said. “There's still tough fighting ahead in Ramadi's dense urban terrain.” Some 10,000 Iraqi soldiers, policemen, and Shiite militia launched a major offensive to retake Ramadi several months after it fell to the extremist group. Backed by US airstrikes, the troops have recaptured parts of the city in since last week. The army Chief of Staff General Othman al-Ghanemi had warned in televised comments that that the operation would take days.
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