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Monday 28 Dec 2015 - 12:54 Makkah mean time-17-3-1437
Ramadi, (IINA) - Iraq's army declared victory over ISIS fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad on Sunday, the first major triumph for the army since the city collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago, Reuters reported.
The capture of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in the Euphrates River valley west of the capital, deprives ISIS militants of their biggest prize of 2015. The fighters seized it in May after government troops suffered a defeat that prompted the US to take a hard look at strategy in its ongoing air war against the militants.
After encircling the city for weeks, the Iraqi military launched a campaign to retake it last week and made a final push to seize the central administration complex on Sunday.
"By controlling the complex means that we have defeated them in Ramadi", said Sabah al-Numani, a spokesman for the force leading the fight on the government side. "The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city".
State television broadcasted footage of troops, Humvee vehicles and tanks advancing through Ramadi streets amid piles of rubble and collapsed houses. Some districts appeared to have been destroyed by the advance.
AG/IINA
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