HADITHA, Iraq – As the Tal Afar military campaign starts farther north in Ninevah province, preparations are underway to retake parts of the western Anbar region still under the control of the Islamic State (IS). Haditha, located about 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Baghdad, is the nearest city to the front from which the Anbar offensive will be conducted.
Along a key juncture between northern oil wells and other parts of Iraq and home to the Haditha Dam, as well as being near the al-Asad airbase where US forces train their Iraqi counterparts, the city managed to avoid falling completely under IS control.