Islamic State attacks Iraqi army base near Ramadi

Buildings in Ramadi have been heavily damaged by the fighting

Fighters from so-called Islamic State (IS) have launched an attack on an Iraqi army base near Ramadi, just days after the city was recaptured by government troops.

A military spokesman said suicide car bombers and fighters wearing explosive belts took part in the attack.

The army fought back with the help of air strikes by the US-led coalition.

Iraqi security forces said they had retaken the city of Ramadi on Sunday

Iraq said it had "liberated" Ramadi from IS on Sunday. The jihadist group had held the major city since May.

Friday's attack is the biggest launched by IS against Iraqi forces since Ramadi's recapture.

Sebastian Usher, the BBC World Service Middle East analyst, says the assault shows the scale of the task confronting Iraqi government forces - as troops are faced with an unknown number of IS fighters still holding out on the outskirts.

Source: BBC

Iraqi PM vows defeat of IS after Ramadi recapture

Haider al-Abadi made a televised speech after the recapture of Ramadi

Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi has said so-called Islamic State (IS) will be ousted from the country, after government forces recaptured Ramadi.

In a televised address, Mr 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.

The jihadists seized Ramadi in May, in an embarrassing defeat for the army.

Iraqi government forces have been fighting to retake the city - about 90km (55 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad - for weeks.

Iraqi forces fought their way into the city centre and seized the government compound

TV pictures on Monday showed troops raising the Iraqi flag over the government complex in the city centre.

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," Mr Abadi said on state television, using another name for Islamic State.

"We are coming to liberate Mosul and it will be the fatal and final blow to Daesh," he added.

The BBC's Thomas Fessy, who is in Ramadi, says the battle against IS has destroyed the urban landscape.

Parts of the city have been destroyed in the fighting

He says that booby traps are everywhere and that Iraqi troops are still hunting retreating militants in parts of the city.

Mr 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 centre and enemy forces have suffered a major defeat," he said.

The battle for Ramadi - capital of mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province - was backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition.

US Defence 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.

State TV on Monday showed pictures of soldiers in Ramadi firing their guns in the air and publicly slaughtering a sheep in celebration.

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.

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".

In the fight for Ramadi, the government chose not to deploy the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the mainly Sunni northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.

Source: BBC

Iraqi forces retake Islamic State Ramadi stronghold

The Iraqi flag was raised in parts of Ramadi as security forces entered

Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said.

The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said.

He said this heralded the defeat of IS in the city, although he admitted there could be pockets of resistance.

The government has been trying to retake Ramadi for weeks.

The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.

In recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way.

After sniper fire from the compound stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity, Iraqi soldiers moved in.

The military spokesman, Sabah al-Numani, told Reuters: "The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of [IS] fighters in the complex.

"By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi. The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."

Analysis: BBC's Thomas Fessy in Baghdad

Controlling this compound is key to retaking Ramadi. Iraqi soldiers are slowly clearing it as they fear it may have been rigged to explode.

Troops are also busy in the surrounding neighbourhood, where pockets of resistance remain.

The authorities will hail this week's offensive as a success - in stark contrast with the security forces' hasty retreat from Ramadi last May.

However, it took months to mount this ground campaign, in co-ordination with coalition air strikes.

There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at about 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.

The Iraqi military believes the remaining militants have headed north-east; with fighting also reported to be under way to the south-west of the compound.

Gen Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of Anbar military operations, told Associated Press that the fighting had been tough given IS's use of suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps.

Concern also remains for the plight of hundreds of families who have been trapped on the frontline.

The Iraqi army was ousted from Mosul by Islamic State in June 2014

Will Mosul be next target?

• Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi says the army will move soon to retake the northern city - and that it would be the biggest prize.

• With the population of about 1.5m, Iraq's second biggest city is also the largest centre under IS control since June 2014.

• The Iraqi military expects the battle for the strategic city of the Tigris River will be much longer.

• Mosul is seen as a focal point for all sides of the conflict - Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs and Kurds.

• IS is reported to be making significant sums of money by selling locally produced oil

The fight for Mosul

Although the full extent of the situation on the ground remains unclear, Agence France-Presse reported there had been celebrations on the streets of a number of Iraqi cities.

The operation to recapture Ramadi began in early November, but made slow progress, mainly because the government chose not to use the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.

Source: BBC