Iraqi officials said Saturday that the security forces foiled an attack by jihadists of the Islamic State group on the city of Ramadi, capital of the western province of Anbar.
A British national working for a US company clearing ordnance in the Iraqi city of Ramadi was killed Monday as he tried to defuse a bomb, officials said.
Iraqi security forces paraded through Baghdad on Thursday to celebrate victories over the Islamic State jihadist group, but an unannounced rehearsal two days earlier put a damper on the festivities.
Iraqi government forces fought Islamic State militants near Falluja on Monday and bombarded central districts at the outset of an offensive to retake the longtime jihadist stronghold.
US Vice President Joe Biden met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in an unannounced visit to Baghdad to show support for the government as it builds on wins against Islamic State.
Attacks by five suicide bombers on an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad killed at least 15 members of the security forces and wounded 22 others, security sources said.
Terrified families waved white flags as they emerged from homes reduced to rubble in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, where government troops were still battling Islamic State fighters holed up on Friday, five days after the army recaptured the city centre.
Iraqi forces pushed out of central Ramadi to extend their grip on the city, sweeping neighbourhoods for pockets of jihadists to flush out and trapped civilians to evacuate.
Around 700 IS fighters thought to be hiding in the area
Prime minister visits key city to celebrate Islamic State defeat
Iraq flew its flag above the main government complex in the western city of Ramadi yesterday, marking its military’s first major victory over Islamic State since the army collapsed in the face of the militants’ shock advance 18 months ago.
Iraqi troops were getting ready on Sunday for a final push to take the remaining district held by Islamic State in the city of Ramadi, army spokesmen said.
