Westward offensive starts as Iraq's Ramadi catches breath
With the Mosul operation still going on and Anbar's liberated area still unstable, the Iraqi forces have launched an assault on the last Islamic State stronghold in Anbar province.
RAMADI, Iraq — A suicide attacker blew himself up at a checkpoint west of the provincial capital of Ramadi two days before the Jan. 5 launch of an offensive to retake areas in the west of the province still under Islamic State (IS) control.
Attacks and casualties continue just over a year after Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s westernmost province, was retaken from IS, as displaced citizens make their way to the city and efforts are made to rehabilitate the buildings, restore public services and clear all areas of unexploded ordnance.
Two security officials and two civilians were killed in the attack, a military intelligence source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He said the attack occurred 7 kilometers (4 miles) outside Ramadi, where internally displaced persons from nearby IS-held areas are now screened. The checkpoints were moved closer to the city just a month ago, having previously been conducted some 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the city. The two civilians killed were both displaced from Qaim along the Syrian border, he said.
The source told Al-Monitor that the operation to retake all of western Anbar would begin along two axes and that the forces had discovered and dealt with some 500 roadside bombs on the first day but had not been engaged in any direct clashes.
