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US military: Iraqi effort to isolate, retake Ramadi advancing

WASHINGTON - Iraqi troops are more than halfway through an operation to encircle Islamic State militants in Ramadi, after which they will launch a final offensive to retake the Iraqi city, a US military spokesman said on Friday.

 

Air Force Colonel Pat Ryder, a US Central Command spokesman, said Iraqi forces were making progress in the fourth week of their effort to isolate and cut off Islamic State fighters, who captured Ramadi three months ago in their biggest victory this year.

 

"The objective here is to cut off ISIL's lines of communications to prevent or limit their resupply and reinforcement," Ryder, using an acronym for the militant group, said in a telephone briefing with Pentagon reporters.

 

He said Iraqi troops were engaged in "tough, dangerous work" to encircle the city and then prevent Islamic State from bringing in more troops or supplies.

 

The militants were trying to slow or stop Iraqi forces with hidden explosive devices, improvised explosives in vehicles, suicide bombers and fighters, Ryder said. The Iraqis have used armored bulldozers and other specialized equipment to remove explosives.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.15.15, 08:32