Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi has said the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group will be ousted from the country, after government forces recaptured Ramadi.
In a televised address, Abadi vowed to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul, saying it would be “the fatal and final blow” to IS.
The recapture of Ramadi was welcomed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said IS had suffered a major defeat, BBC reported.
IS seized Ramadi in May, in an embarrassing defeat for the army. Iraqi government forces have been fighting to retake the city—about 90 km west of the capital Baghdad—for weeks.
TV pictures on Monday showed troops raising the Iraqi flag over the government complex in the city center. Army spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Rasul said forces had “liberated” Ramadi in an “epic” victory. Iraqi officials gave no immediate death toll from the battle.
“2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh’s presence in Iraq will be terminated,” Abadi said on state television, using another name for IS.
“We are coming to liberate Mosul and it will be the fatal and final blow to Daesh,” he added.
The BBC correspondent in Ramadi says the battle against IS has destroyed the urban landscape. He says that booby traps are everywhere and that Iraqi troops are still hunting retreating militants in parts of the city.
Kerry congratulated Iraqi forces for “displaying tremendous perseverance and courage”.
“While Ramadi is not yet fully secure and additional parts of the city still must be retaken, Iraq’s national flag now flies above the provincial government center and enemy forces have suffered a major defeat,” he said.
The battle for Ramadi—capital of Anbar province—was backed by airstrikes from the US-led coalition. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the expulsion of IS was “a significant step forward in the campaign to defeat this barbaric group”.
He said it was now important for the Iraqi government to maintain the peace in Ramadi, prevent the return of IS and to help Ramadi’s citizens to return to the city.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also congratulated the Iraqi government, adding that air support from the RAF around Ramadi had played “a key role” in the battle.
“This remains a long fight, but the coalition’s strategy is succeeding. We will continue to stand with the Iraqi people until Daesh is defeated,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Majid al-Fatlawi, of the army’s 8th division, told AFP that IS fighters had “planted more than 300 explosive devices on the roads and in the buildings of the government complex”. Troops finally captured the government compound on Sunday, flushing out or killing IS fighters and suicide bombers who had been holding out in its buildings.
