Iraq's army launches offensive to retake Anbar
NEWS CENTER (DİHA) - Iraqi forces have launched a counteroffensive to retake areas of Anbar province recently captured by gangs from the ISIS.
Officials in Anbar told Associated Press news agency on Tuesday of air strikes and fighting on the ground west and south of the provincial capital, Ramadi. A Shia unit spokesman told AFP news agency that Iraqi forces had surrounded Ramadi from three sides.
Thousands of Iraqi forces, made up of government troops and fighters from allied Shia militias under the Popular Mobilisation Forces banner, have been gathering at the Habbaniyah military base in preparation for the counteroffensive since Ramadi fell on May 17.
Since the fall of Ramadi, Iraq and the US have traded accusations over who was to blame for the failure to maintain control of the provincial capital, which had been among just a few towns and cities to remain under government control in mainly Sunni Anbar.
Many tribal leaders in Anbar have voiced concerns that the inclusion of Shia units in the fight could cause sectarian divisions in the province. Tens of thousands of residents from Ramadi have fled the city in recent weeks, causing a humanitarian crisis.
(nt)
